Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (8 page)

“
I hope so.” Calloway
sighed. “I couldn’t survive four more years of that.”

“
It gets better.” She
smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

Calloway doubted she had any problems
in high school. It was obvious that she was a popular kid that was
asked to prom by ten different guys. She’d never been teased in her
life. In fact, she probably did the bullying. Both of the boys
doubted she had an experience that was even remotely similar to
theirs.

“
Did you go to the same
high school as us?” Breccan asked. “I don’t remember
you.”

“
No,” she said quickly.
“Easton and I went to different schools. We didn’t get along very
well when we were growing up so I applied for an inter-district
transfer. We started to get along after I moved out—as you can
see.”

Easton stayed in her chair and started
to pick her nails, like this conversation was extremely boring to
her. She kept her legs crossed under the table and her back was
straight against the chair.

Weston looked at her sister. “So, what
are you guys doing?”

“
We were hanging out,” she
said.

“
But why in my
basement?”

“
We were doing
homework—wanted to go somewhere quiet,” Easton answered.

Weston noticed that the table was
empty. There were no books or papers across the surface. It looked
like they were doing nothing. “It doesn’t look like you’re studying
very hard.”
“Well, we’re done.”

Weston nodded but she didn’t look
convinced. “You guys are welcome here anytime,” she said. “As long
as you don’t make a mess.” She walked to the steps and ascended the
stairway into the house.

“
You sister is cool,”
Breccan said immediately.

Easton rolled her eyes. “You think any
girl who talks to you is cool.”

“
Well, you’re talking to
me and I don’t think you’re cool.”

Easton ignored his jab. “It’s getting
late,” she said. “Should I take you home?”

Both boys sighed. They knew what was
waiting for them at the house. Calloway leaned back in his chair.
“I guess.”

“
What’s the problem?” she
asked.

“
It’s a long story,”
Breccan said. “Basically, Hawk broke our camera in photography
class and now we have to replace it because it was checked out to
us.”

“
Why would he do that?”
Easton asked.

Breccan looked at Calloway but his
cousin avoided his gaze. “Calloway wanted to be a hero and spare
Beatrice from Hawk’s harassment. Hawk decided to pick on us
instead.”

“
Why did you do that?” she
asked Calloway. “Why did you intervene?”

Calloway felt the anger rise when he
relived the moment. “He wouldn’t leave her alone—he wouldn’t
stop—and she was practically crying. I couldn’t stand the
sight.”

“
Your empathy is going to
get you killed, Calloway,” she said.

“
I agree,” Breccan
added.

Easton gave him a surprised look. He
had never agreed with her before.

“
I know,” Calloway said.
“But I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“
Why?” Breccan asked
incredulously. “Beatrice didn’t even acknowledge you for it. Since
you aren’t one of the popular kids she is too embarrassed to even
speak to you. Why help someone if they don’t even thank you for
it?” Breccan shook his head. “She didn’t deserve your
help.”

Calloway sighed. “It was the right
thing to do.”

Breccan rolled his eyes. “You aren’t
going to be saying that by the end of the year,” he said. “This was
just day one of Hawk torture. He isn’t going to stop.”

Calloway didn’t say anything. He knew
his cousin was right.

“
So, that’s why you’re
afraid to go home?” Easton asked. “Your parents are going to be
upset about paying for the camera?”

“
It costs two thousand
dollars to replace it,” Calloway said. “Our family can’t afford
that.”

Easton’s eyes opened in alarm. “That’s
a lot of money,” she said. She opened her bag and searched through
a small coin purse. “I have a few hundred dollars that would help,”
she said. “I got it for my birthday.”

Calloway was surprised by her selfless
gesture and he stared at her in surprise, but his look was nothing
compared to his cousin’s. Breccan stared at her with his mouth
gaping open, astounded that she made such an offer, especially
after all the insults he targeted at her. Easton counted out three
hundred dollars then put in on the table.

“
It isn’t much but it
should help,” she said.

Breccan shook his head. “You would do
that?” he asked incredulously.

“
We are friends, aren’t
we?” she asked. “Isn’t that what friends do?”

Calloway grabbed the money from the
table and handed it back to her. “Breccan and I both really
appreciate the other—we are both speechless—but we can’t accept it.
Thank you anyway.”

“
But I don’t mind,” she
said.

Calloway smiled at her. “I know you
don’t but we don’t want it. I’m getting a part time job to pay for
it, so please keep it.”

She took the cash and put it back into
her wallet. “Well, the offer still stands.”

Breccan looked at Easton with new eyes.
“Thank you,” he said.

“
Now do you still think
I’m weird?” she asked.

Breccan smiled at her. “Yes, but in a
good way.”

Confessions

They climbed up the stairs from the
basement and entered the house. Weston was sitting at the coffee
table with history books scattered around her, studying for an exam
she had the next morning. Indie rock was playing from her stereo
and she was drinking a cup of coffee despite the late hour. Weston
looked up when she saw them enter the sitting area. “Are you guys
leaving?” she asked.

“
I’m going to drive them
home,” Easton said as she walked to the front door. “I’ll see you
later, sis.”

Weston nodded at her and turned to the
two boys. “It was nice meeting you both.”

Breccan nodded and Calloway smiled at
her. “Thank you for having us,” Calloway said.

“
You’re welcome anytime,”
she said. She turned back to her book and started highlighting a
sentence on the page. Calloway watched her for a moment before he
followed Easton and Breccan out the front door.

They walked to the car at the end of
the driveway and got inside. Calloway sat in the back so Breccan
could touch the dashboard and play with the stereo. He was so
mesmerized by her car that he was acting like it was a living
entity; a celebrity.

“
What’s the horsepower on
this thing?” Breccan asked as they drove down the
street.

Easton shrugged. “I don’t
know.”

“
What’s the gas
mileage?”

She shrugged again. “I don’t have a
clue. I just fill it up when it gets empty.”

Calloway laughed at her comment and
Breccan glared at her. “You have a beautiful, gorgeous, classic car
and you don’t know anything about it?”

“
I know how to drive it,”
she said. “I think that’s the most important part.”

Breccan rolled his eyes. “You are so
weird.”

“
But in a good way,
right?” She smiled.

Breccan nodded. “Most of the time,” he
said. “When I get my license, can I drive it?”

Easton laughed loudly. “I hope that was
a joke.”

“
Come on,” he said. “I
wouldn’t crash it or anything.”

“
We’ll see,” she said.
“But don’t count on it.”

Easton drove the two boys down the
street toward their house across town. Calloway felt his heart
accelerate the closer they came to home. The guilt was at its peak
and he felt terrible for making his aunt and uncle pay for his
mistake. It was entirely his fault and he wished this never
happened. Calloway would prefer a bloody beating from Hawk over a
financial jab at his guardians. Breccan sighed loudly when the
house came into view. When Easton pulled into the driveway, neither
of the boys moved from the seats, dreading the upcoming
conversation.

“
Come on you guys,” she
said gently. “Tell them the truth—it wasn’t your fault.”

“
I don’t care about that,”
Calloway said. “I hate knowing they have to suffer for this—it’s
unfair.”

Breccan nodded. “My parents don’t
deserve to pay for that camera—they shouldn’t have to.”

“
You’ll get through this,”
she said to both of them.

Breccan opened the door and pulled up
the seat so Calloway could get out. They crept to the door, walking
as slow as possible. When they reached the doorway they turned the
handle gently, hoping they could sneak into the house and avoid the
conversation entirely. When they stepped inside, Aunt Grace and
Uncle Scott were sitting in the living room, watching television.
They didn’t look at them when they entered the house. Calloway shut
the door behind them and both boys headed to the stairs, hoping
that they hadn’t been spotted.

“
How long are you going to
avoid us?” Uncle Scott asked without looking at them.

Both boys halted and turned toward
their uncle. He turned off the television and pointed to the sofa
next to him and Aunt Grace. “Sit,” he commanded.

Calloway and Breccan dropped their
backpacks on the floor and walked into the living room. Aunt Grace
didn’t look at them once as they passed in front of her. Calloway
leaned forward and looked at the floor, avoiding their gaze, and
Breccan looked at the blank screen of the television.

Uncle Scott stared at them both. “So
how’d you manage to break a camera beyond repair?” he asked. “What
were you doing? Using it as a baseball?”

Both boys were silent.

“
Well?” he
asked.

“
No,” Calloway
said.

“
Then what happened?”
Uncle Scott asked. “And you better tell me the truth. It’s going to
cost me two thousand dollars—it better be a good story.”

Calloway sighed. “It wasn’t Breccan’s
fault—he had nothing to do with it—I’m the one responsible for
this.”

Breccan shook his head but said
nothing.

Uncle Scott stared at him and waited
for him to continue.

“
A girl in our class was
being harassed by this jock—a typical bully—and he wouldn’t leave
her alone and made her cry—that’s when I intervened.” Calloway held
his hands together. “The guy got angry and started to pick a fight
with me, teasing me about how I dress and—stuff.” Calloway didn’t
want to confess what characteristic he was teased about the most.
He didn’t want to hurt their feelings. “And when we were outside,
the guy destroyed our camera because he knew it was checked out to
us and we would have to pay for it.”

“
Why didn’t you tell the
teacher this?” Aunt Grace asked. She spoke up from her spot on the
couch as she looked at her nephew.

“
We did,” Breccan said.
“But he had two witnesses—his friends—that said he didn’t do it.
Since the camera was checked out to us we were still liable for
it.”

“
Is this the truth?” Uncle
Scott asked.

“
Of course it is,” Aunt
Grace said. “They wouldn’t lie to us. Our boys would never do
that.”

Calloway felt even guiltier for their
undying belief in them. They trusted them.

“
Well,” Uncle Scott said.
“If that’s the story, I don’t see how I can punish you for it. Even
though it ended badly for us, Calloway did the right thing by
standing up for that girl. We would never punish our son for doing
the right thing.”

Calloway felt his heart tug at their
words. They had referred to them as their own son on occasion,
whether it was on accident or on purpose, and it made him feel like
he belonged with them, that this was his family. Knowing he was
responsible for the damaged camera and Hawk’s childish behavior
made him angry. It wasn’t fair.

“
You are both dismissed,”
Uncle Scott said.

The both got up and headed up the
stairs to their room. Calloway left the bedroom and walked to the
bathroom down the hall and stopped when he heard voices.

“
I’ll have to get a job,”
Aunt Grace whispered. “It’s the only way we’ll make rent and buy
groceries.”

Uncle Scott sighed. “I really don’t
want you to do this,” he said. “I can pick up some extra
shifts.”

“
No,” she said quickly.
“You already work all the time. I can’t expect you to do
that.”

“
Well, I know how hard it
for you to stay on your feet.”

“
It’s just for now,” she
said. “We have to do this.”

Uncle Scott was quiet for a moment.
“Okay,” he said. “We don’t have a choice.”

Poverty Boy #2

The alarm woke Calloway before sunrise.
He stumbled out of bed and dressed himself in the dark, not wanting
to wake up his cousin with the brightness of the overhead lamp.
After he brushed his teeth and grabbed a snack from the
refrigerator, he rode his bike through the winter morning toward
the campus down the street.