Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (4 page)

“
I think that’s unlikely,”
she said. “You already have the book. You have no reason to return.
We can go to my sister’s place. She lives by the
college.”

“
Isn’t she going to wonder
what we’re doing?” Breccan asked.

“
She’s my sister—not my
mom,” she said sarcastically.

“
We don’t have a ride,”
Calloway said.

“
I have a car,” Easton
said. “I’ll drive us and take you home.”

“
Thanks,” Calloway
said.

She nodded. “I’ll see you after
school.”

The bell rang and announced the end of
lunch period. Calloway didn’t eat the meal his aunt packed for him,
but if he found his appetite, he would eat during his math class.
Easton grabbed her bag and left the library without saying goodbye
to them. She had two different shoes on.

“
That girl is weird,”
Breccan said.

“
Well, when you think
about it, we’re just as weird as she is.”

And The Hero Will
Drown

Calloway left his math class and walked
across campus to the Delfer’s Art Building, where Breccan and he
both had their elective course, photography. The door was locked
when he twisted the handle, so he waited with the other students
for their instructor, Mrs. Ezquibel, to arrive.

Breccan walked to Calloway and stood
beside him. “Could you concentrate last period?” he
asked.

“
No.” He shook his head.
“I haven’t listened to a lecture in over a year. The teachers don’t
even bother with me anymore. I feel like Mr. Avey is the only one
that cares somewhat.”

“
At least we’re passing
photography,” he mumbled.

“
But that would be pretty
hard to fail,” Calloway said sarcastically.

Calloway noticed Beatrice walk to the
classroom with her friend Maddie, and she was holding her binder to
her chest. It was decorated with various pictures on the front, and
unlike most students, she didn’t have pictures of herself or her
friends, but photos she’d taken with her own camera. There were
flowers, old men sitting at bus stations, and children playing on
the playground—they were all beautiful. Calloway tore his gaze away
when he saw her approach.

Breccan looked toward Beatrice and
sighed. “Poor Beatrice.”

“
What?” Calloway said in
an indifferent voice, trying to act like he didn’t care. He stared
at the wall and kept his sight away from the girl he
adored.

“
Hawk is being an
idiot.”

Calloway sighed. “How is that different
than any other day?” He stared back at Beatrice and saw Hawk
walking alongside her. They both stopped when they reached the
building, and Calloway could hear their quiet voices as they spoke.
Hawk’s real name was Maurice but he went by his last name since
grammar school. Calloway and Breccan had been his classmates since
they were in elementary school, and both boys knew they wouldn’t
miss him after graduation.

“
We’re going bowling
tonight,” Hawk said as he leaned into Beatrice. She held the binder
closer to her chest, cutting him off from contact with her. “You
should come.” He placed his hands in his pockets and nudged her
side with his elbow. “You
are
coming.”

“
I have an exam tomorrow,”
she said quietly.

Hawk shook his head. “Who cares?” He
turned to Maddie. “You’re coming, right?”

Maddie’s cheeks reddened in
embarrassment. Everyone knew she had a crush on Hawk. She had since
junior high. Calloway didn’t understand it because the guy was a
complete jerk. Hawk was good looking and had a built physique
because of the sports he played, and he was very popular, but
Calloway still didn’t understand why that mattered to women.
“Sure,” she said. “If—you know—you want me to.”

“
Of course,” Hawk said
with a smile. “Now get your best friend to come.” Beatrice didn’t
say anything. She was gripping the binder tightly, clearly
uncomfortably by his advance. Even though she was one of the most
popular girls in school, she was still very shy. Hawk leaned into
her face. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

“
I really need to study,”
Beatrice said.

Hawk grabbed her arm. “Come on,” he
whispered. “I’ll pick you up and take you home. My dad got me a
jeep—brand new.”

Calloway tried to swallow his anger as
he listened to their conversation. Hawk was a renowned
heartbreaker, taking girls out until he got what he wanted then
dumping them immediately afterwards. Some girls didn’t mind being
used and they wanted to be, but Beatrice was different. It was
obvious that she wasn’t interested in this creep and Calloway
wished he would back off. Calloway and Hawk had never been friends
but they were never enemies either. Calloway didn’t want to start a
feud now. Hawk was well known for his bully pranks on the other
kids and his love for social torture. Calloway had too many things
to worry about to add this jerk to his list, so he held his tongue
and said nothing.

Beatrice shifted her weight and pulled
her body from his grasp but Hawk didn’t release his hold. He pulled
a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Come
with me,” he whispered. The other students backed away from them,
not wanting to anger Hawk, and they left Beatrice on her
own.

“
I already said no,” she
whispered. “Please don’t touch me.” She didn’t look at him when she
spoke but the fear was evident in her watery eyes. Hawk was
violating her and harassing her right in front of
everyone.

“
I don’t accept that,” he
said to her. “I’ll make you come if I have to.”

His threatening words broke Calloway’s
control. Hawk was blatantly pestering Beatrice, a sweet girl, and
Calloway couldn’t stand it a second longer. It wouldn’t matter if
he didn’t have feelings for her—this was unacceptable. Calloway
marched over to him stared him down. “Let her go.” He straightened
his back to appear as formidable as possible. Hawk was the same
height as he was, although he was larger from playing on the
football team. Calloway didn’t back down as he stared at him. Hawk
didn’t release his grip on Beatrice’s arm and met Calloway’s heated
gaze.

“
What are you going to
do?” he snapped. “Throw food stamps at me?”

All the students laughed at his joke.
Everyone knew how poor Breccan and Calloway were. They had the same
sweaters all through high school and even stayed behind on class
trips because Breccan’s parents couldn’t afford the
expense.

“
She obviously has no
interest in you,” Calloway said. “And making jabs at my poverty
isn’t helping your image.”

Hawk narrowed his eyes at
him. He released his hold on Beatrice and she quickly stepped away,
wanting to be as far away from him as she could. Hawk stared at
Calloway for a moment then approached him while he flexed his
muscles, preparing for the fight about to ensue. Calloway didn’t
flinch at his intimidation. “And you think she would be interested
in
you
? An
orphan? Where would you take her on a date? The Dollar
Store?”

Calloway steadied his breathing and
forced himself to remain calm. He couldn’t get into a physical
confrontation with Hawk because his guardians would find out about
his behavior. Calloway didn’t want to disappoint them in any way,
make them regret taking him in.

Breccan came beside Calloway. “The
teacher is coming,” he said.

When Calloway looked down the walkway,
Hawk took advantage of the distraction and kneed him hard in the
stomach. Calloway groaned as he bent over, holding his stomach with
his hands.

“
There’s plenty more
coming,” Hawk whispered into his ear.

Calloway stood up as the teacher
arrived and pretended that he was fine; nothing was amiss. Beatrice
walked past him without speaking. She didn’t even look at
him.

Breccan stayed behind with his cousin.
“That girl is unbelievable,” he snapped. “She doesn’t even care
what you did for her.”

“
She probably doesn’t want
to be seen talking to me,” Calloway said as walked slowly toward
the classroom, ignoring the pain in his stomach.

“
And doesn’t that make you
angry?”

“
No,” he said. “I would
have done it anyway.”

They took their seats at their own
computers, and Calloway stared straight ahead. Breccan and Calloway
sat in the second row and Hawk sat behind them in the third row.
Calloway felt a spit wad hit him in the back of the head and he
knew who the culprit was.

The teacher unlocked the drawers that
held the cameras in the lockers. “Check out your equipment and sign
the form,” she said in her usual squeaky voice. “Any cameras that
are not returned will be paid for by the person who last checked it
out. Please be careful,” she warned. “These Technicolor 10,000’s
are brand new and very expensive.” Everyone got up and huddled
around the storage boxes, and Calloway sighed when he saw Hawk
approach his group.

“
These are
cameras
,” he said to
Calloway in a lecturing voice. “It’s okay if you didn’t know
that—most poor people never even get to touch one.”

The girls standing around them laughed
at his joke, and Calloway sighed in annoyance. Their laughter was
just enforcing his childish behavior and Calloway wished they would
stop. They would feel differently if they were the ones being
harassed.

“
Calloway is in love with
Beatrice,” one of the girls whispered to the other. “It’s so
obvious.”

Calloway grabbed his camera and walked
away, returning to his seat next to Breccan with a scowl on his
face.

Breccan caught the look. “That was a
bad fire you started,” he said. “I don’t think you can put it
out.”

“
Shut up, Brec,” Calloway
snapped.

Calloway tried to turn on the camera
but the batteries were dead. Calloway sighed when he realized he
had to return and get more.

Hawk walked back to his seat behind
Calloway. “This is how you turn on a camera,” Hawk said in a loud
voice. “You just press this button.” He demonstrated on his own
camera with a smile on his face. “It’s okay—I know you’re new to
expensive appliances that your family could never
afford.”

Calloway knew Mrs. Ezquibel could hear
everything Hawk was saying but she chose to ignore it for an
obvious reason. Hawk’s father was the principal of the high school.
None of the teachers disciplined his behavior because his father
signed their checks.

Breccan got up before Calloway could.
“I’ll get the batteries.”

Hawk continued to tease him. “Nice
jacket,” he said with a smile. “Where did you get it?” Calloway
stared straight ahead and ignored him. “The Salvation
Army?”

Hawk’s friends started laughing loudly,
clapping their hands together at Hawk’s comment. The teacher just
stared at her screen, completely indifferent to the loud taunts
across the classroom. Calloway tried to ignore them but the insults
continued.

“
So, do the food stamps
work in the cafeteria?” Hawk asked.

Tommy, Hawk’s best friend, laughed at
his joke then threw a wad of paper at Calloway’s head. It fell to
the floor and the laughter continued. Calloway was losing control
of his anger but he kept it back, knowing any reaction would end
badly. The only satisfaction he received was the fact that Beatrice
was spared—for now. He would take the insults for her any day, or
any girl for that matter. No one deserved this. He glanced at her
on the other side of the room but she wasn’t even looking at him,
indifferent to the insults he was suffering in her
stead.

Breccan walked back to his seat and
placed the batteries inside the camera. “Class is halfway over,” he
whispered.

“
Whatever,” Calloway said
with a sigh.

The teacher stood up and addressed the
class. “Today you will demonstrate the use of lines in pictures,”
she said as held her hands together. Mrs. Ezquibel was a young
teacher who didn’t look much older than the students in her class.
She was shorter than most of the males and thinner than the most of
the girls. Her voice was high-pitched and squeaky. She sounded like
a talking mouse. “Take your cameras outside and try to capture
something that is specifically appealing to you. Off you
go.”

Calloway made a dash for the entrance
before anyone else moved, and when he was outside, he breathed in
the fresh cold air and let it chill the anger that coursed through
his body. Breccan was by his side a moment later and they walked
across the campus while Breccan took the pictures. Calloway wasn’t
interested at all. His mind was occupied with Hawk and his taunts.
There was still six months left in the school year. It seemed like
forever.

“
Were you looking for some
lunch in the garbage can?” Hawk said as he walked up to them. Tommy
and Joey were standing behind him with stupid grins on their chubby
faces. Calloway noticed the garbage next to him and he wished he
hadn’t made himself vulnerable to more taunts.

“
So, is there anything
good?” Hawk asked.