Souls in Peril (19 page)

Mrs. Volkel turned to Emma.
“
How is your knee?
”

“
Better, thanks,
”
Em smiled.

“
I
’
d like to speak to you about this pyramid, if I may.
”
She and Emma walked out of the cafeteria as Leo continued cleaning. Max hoped she forb
a
d
e
the cheerleaders from
preforming
the
stunt
. As they cleared the door, Max stooped to help Leo pick up the last of the garbage.

Chapter
1
1

Excited about Emma defending him in the cafeteria, JD lived off the high for hours, as did Max. Only when walking to the bus after school did Max crash back to earth. He
’
d forgotten his math book in his locker. He debated whether to just forget about it, but being math, he knew he couldn
’
t afford to skip it. He ran all-out to his locker, grabbed the book and ran back to the bus, sucking
oxygen
into his depleted lungs.

The bus
was
gone.
JD
began shaking.
No, JD, we
’
ll figure out a way around Nate. Stay calm
. Max paced back to the lockers then back to the bus stop again.
There has to be a way to get home safely
. He turned to
go
back to the lockers, when it hit him.

The library. He could hang out there, do his homework and get home long after Nate and his posse had given up their search for JD. As Max slid his book bag up on his shoulder
,
relief
,
borde
r
ing
on excitement
,
wash
ed
over JD. Max smiled and headed for the library.

“
JD! You came!
”
A girl, maybe three years older than Max, rushed over to him as he set his backpack on a plush green chair in the reading area.
“
I
’
m so glad you changed your mind.
”
The girl,
Bambi
, Assistant Librarian
,
if Max were to believe her name
tag, dressed from head to toe in black, starting with her leather vest and short, black leather skirt, to her ripped up black fishne
t stockings and black army boot
s
. She
was hot, in a macabre sort of way. And JD liked her, a lot.
“
Did you, like, bring something to read?
”

“
I . . . um . . .
”
Max stumbled.
Did she mean a book
?
This is a library. I
sn
’
t the purpose of this place to check out books?

“
That
’
s okay. Remember, I said you didn
’
t have to share any of your work until you, like, felt comfortable.
”
She looped her arm th
rough his as
he quickly grabbed his backpack
. T
hey w
a
ndered through the aisles of musty books to a well-lit room in the back.

Bambi tossed open
the door with exuberance. JD pull
ed
back, but Bambi would have none of it. She tugged
him
in
to
the room. Three people, one man, and two women, sat in orange plastic chairs in a semi-circle.
“
Hello, everyone. I
’
d like you all to meet JD Miller. I
’
ve been begging him to, like, join our group and he finally has!
”
Max couldn
’
t help but note her sprightly attitude and hoped JD would feed off it.

“
Let me introduce you to everyone. This is Morrey. He was, like, a bush pilot during the Vietnam War. He loves to tell war stories, so watch out,
”
she said in a mock whisper. Morrey laughed.
“
He enjoys carving, as you can see by the hand-carved cane he carries
,
and he, like,
writes mostly speculative fiction. His latest venture involves a poor guy stuck in, like, a guacamole cube.
”

“
Guacamole,
like
, color, pixie girl,
”
the balding Morrey replied, playfully tapping his cane on the floor.
“
I love to weave a mystery, my young friend. Keeps the mind crisp.
”
He winked at Max.

“
This is
Kami
Miron
e
.
S
he is, like, a romance writer from Romania.
”
Max noted the warm smile on the leggy blond as she waved.

“
I love to write about hidden hearts that are worlds apart,
”
she said poetically with her thick Romanian accent. She batted her eyelashes and Max got the impression he was
star
ing into the eyes of a real live cougar.

“
And next is
Cindy
Benne. She writes young adult fiction. What
’
s the name of your latest book again,
Cind
y
?
”

“
Immortal Geeks. I
’
m really excited. I just found out it
’
s number two on Amazon this week,
”
bubbled
Cindy
. Max noted the halo effect of her snow-white hair. He thought of Gabe, wondering why he didn
’
t have a halo and made a note to ask him next time he saw him. Everyone clapped at
Cindy
’
s news.

“
And I write fantasy. Anything and everything
that has to do with elves and f
aeries,
”
said Bambi, glowing.
“
Alex, he
’
s my boyfriend, he
’
s usually here but he had to work tonight. He writes fantasy too, only he writes about werewolves.
”
She pointed to an empty chair
and
Max sat down.

“
So, young man, what genre do you write
?
”
asked Morrey.

Max didn
’
t have a clue what he should say. JD had poetry books, but Max hadn
’
t read them. He
’
d only read a few stories
he
’
d written about dragons. But is that what JD would want to share?
“
Well . . . ah . . .
”
Max stumbled.

Bambi saved him.
“
He
’
s a little shy. He
’
s writing a sci-fi story, that much I know, and he
’
s very good. He came in here last summer working on
it
and I helped him do some research. When we were done, I asked if I could read the parts he
’
d finished and I was completely blown away. I
’
ve been begging him to come to our group ever since, but he didn
’
t think he was good enough.
”
She smiled. Max saw a tiny little diamond in her left canine tooth twinkle.

“
Okay, who brought some writings to share with the group?
”
Bambi asked. Everyone but Max raised a hand.
“
Alright, let
’
s go in a circle.
Kami
, you first.
”

As each person read a short passage, the group talked about what they shared, offering compliments or suggestions. Max noted the camaraderie. Though each wrote very different genres, the love of writing brought them all together. He also noted the calm that prevailed from JD. He felt safe, happy, and at peace here. The group talked and read for over two hours, only it didn
’
t feel that long. Max sat back and let JD absorb the friendship in the room. It was exactly what he needed.

“
Okay, like, it
’
s time to go. Same time and place next month?
”
Bambi asked. Everyone agreed as they packed up their papers and left the room one by one.

“
JD, so you know, there
’
s, like, no pressure. You can share, if and when you are ready. Okay?
”
Bambi smiled.
“
And yes, JD. Your writing is good enough.
”
She answered the unasked question Max was sure haunted JD.

“
Thanks. Maybe I will.
”
Max
hiked
his backpack
o
nto his shoulder and left.

When I get home, I
’
m going to read over your writings. We
’
ll find the perfect one to share
.
Even though JD
’
s anxiety level jumped at the idea,
Max knew solid friendships and constructive outlets would
only
help
him
.
“
Yup. We
’
ll find the best . . .
”

The sound of squealing tires stopped Max cold. Nate. Max darted behind the library praying Nate didn
’
t see him
as he drove passed
.

“
Hey, JD. Do you, like, need a ride or something?
”
Bambi
stroll
ed down a ramp leading out of the
back of
library, her keys jiggling in her hand.

Relieved, he said,
“
Yes, thanks.
”
Today
was
turn
ing
out to be a pretty good day. Finally. Up until
now
Max wondered if JD ever had any.

He followed her to a pink Honda
C
ivic with little faery stickers plastered all over it.  Max
’
s
manhood
shrivel
several inches as he got in.
Oh well. It
’
s better than being beat
en
up . . . Maybe.

“
So, like, where do you live?
”
she asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“
On Valley Drive, near the railroad tracks.
”
Max didn
’
t even know the train tracks ran through Port Fare until he went to live at JD
’
s. The first couple of nights he
’
d hardly gotten any sleep with all the noise they made, but eventually he
’
d grown used to the rhythmic clacking of the steel wheels
as
they surged down the tracks.

She rounded the corner from the library and stopped at the intersection.
“
Hmm, there
’
s bad news.
”
Max followed her stare and saw Nate
’
s car parked off to the side. He and his girlfriend
stood
next to it, screaming at each other, clearly in the middle of a major argument.

“
I hope he doesn
’
t, like, hurt this one,
”
she said as they drove past. “
He served time in
J
uv
y
for beating up a girl
last year
. Alex, my boyfriend, did an internship at the youth detention center for college that quarter. He told me all about Nate. He
’
s rotten to the core, according to Alex. He said
Nate
’
s dad came in to see him one day and he punched his son out cold. His dad
’
s quite the bully himself, it seems.
”

“
Really? Then why does
Nate
bully others if he knows how bullying feels?
”