Tale of Life (Essence Series #2) (2 page)

“I was just talking to Mr. Avey about Hawk,” Calloway said.

“What did he say?” Breccan asked.

“To keep in mind that Hawk is a loser, basically.”

“I could have told you that.” Breccan laughed.

They walked to the Mustang in the parking lot and got inside. Easton drove them to the Headquarters across town while Calloway ate his lunch in the back seat of the car. The sack lunch Aunt Grace packed for him usually remained untouched during school hours, and he saved it for the ride to the Grandiose Historian Library.

When they entered the library they verified they were alone—that no Hara-Kirs were lurking around in the shadows. Easton still had a scar on her arm from the cut she received from their attack on Christmas day, and Calloway didn’t want her to suffer another injury. They set their bags on the table and sat down.

“So, where do we start?” Breccan asked.

“I don’t know,” Calloway said. “I guess we just look around. When we find the location I’ll open the way with the portal key.”

“And then what?” Easton asked.

Calloway shrugged. “And then I’ll cross over.”

She shook her head. “Even if we find this portal we aren’t traveling to the other side, Calloway. We need to research everything in the Kirin Book before we enter the portal.”

“I agree,” Breccan said. “You shouldn’t jump into a lake without knowing how cold it is.”

“Where did this
we
concept come from?” Calloway asked. “I’m going alone.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Easton said. “You aren’t going on your own. That’s ridiculous.”

“I refuse to bring you along,” Calloway said. “Your arm was almost severed off. I won’t put you in harm’s way again.”

“And we won’t let you kill yourself,” Breccan said. “You can’t do this alone.”

Calloway sighed. “The things react to me differently than they do to you—for whatever reason—and they won’t hurt me. I am more likely to survive.”

“They may not kill you but that doesn’t mean they won’t
enslave
you,” Easton said. “You’ll need backup.”

“No,” Calloway said. “It’s too dangerous—no.”

“We all go or none of us go,” Easton said firmly.

“I agree,” Breccan said. “We’re all in this together. We said that from the beginning.”

Calloway sighed. He knew his friends wouldn’t change their minds about this decision despite the obvious danger. A part of him was relieved that he wouldn’t travel into the portal alone, but he was still frightened of losing a best friend. “Weston is going to be livid when she finds out about this.”

Easton leaned back in her chair. “Then we won’t tell her.”

A Weird Day

Calloway knew that today was going to be an unusual day when he ran into Hawk before school started. There were no insults or comments directed at him. In fact, Hawk didn’t even look at him. They both walked to the building, and Hawk stared straight ahead, acting like Calloway didn’t exist at all. Calloway didn’t know what to think—this never happened before. Did Hawk finally get tired of teasing Calloway all the time? Maybe he found someone new to taunt. Calloway had no idea.

Breccan walked out of the restroom and caught up to him. His eyes widened when he saw Hawk just a few feet away. “What’s going on?” he whispered. “That’s Hawk, isn’t it?”

Calloway shrugged. “I’m pretty sure it’s him.”

“He must be in a hurry—I can’t think of any other reason.”

“No,” Calloway said. “That doesn’t seem important enough for him to abandon his responsibilities as chief tormentor. We are missing something.”

“Maybe he hit his head so hard he got amnesia,” Breccan said. “He forgot about you.”

“That sounds too good to be true.”

They walked into the building, and Breccan turned down a separate hallway, walking to his class on the other side of the building. When Calloway reached his English class, he saw Hawk and Beatrice standing outside the door. Their voices were low but he could tell they were arguing. Hawk slammed his hands down in anger, and Beatrice stepped away from him with her arms crossed over her chest.

Calloway wondered if he should intervene but he dismissed the musing immediately. Beatrice was in this position because she wanted to be there—she didn’t want his help. He walked inside the classroom and ignored their heated argument. He took his seat in the back of the class and looked at Beatrice when she walked inside.

Beatrice smiled at him when she sat in her desk. “Hello, Calloway.”

He nodded to her then stared straight ahead. While he appreciated the acknowledgment it didn’t excuse the fact that she was still dating the biggest jerk Calloway had ever met.

After the morning classes were finished, Calloway walked to the library and sat at the table across from his friends. Breccan was eating his lunch like he always did and Easton was reading the Kirin Book.

“Are you done with your break?” Calloway asked.

“I had to get back to work.” She sighed. “It would be so convenient if this was just written in English.”

“The things that require the most work claim the greatest reward,” Calloway said.

“Are you Mr. Avey’s parrot?” Breccan asked.

“Shut up and eat your sandwich,” Calloway said.

The library door opened and they all turned to see the culprit. They were the only students in the entire student body that used the library. Calloway hadn’t seen anyone else in here since the first time he walked inside. When Calloway saw Beatrice walk into the room, he knew the day was getting weirder. He’d never seen her inside of a library before. She rarely went anywhere without her friends or Hawk. When Beatrice saw Calloway, she walked toward him.

“What the hell is happening?” Breccan asked. “First Hawk and now this?”

“What happened with Hawk?” Easton asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” Calloway said quickly.

Beatrice stopped when she reached their table. The binder that was covered in pictures was clutched to her chest. She was wearing a thick sweater and plain jeans that were tucked into her boots, and she had a golden bracelet around her wrist. Calloway stared at her and waited for her to speak. The silence stretched so long that Calloway wondered if she already said something and he didn’t catch it.

“Um, hi,” he said to her.

“Hello.” She shifted her weight and tightened her hold on the binder.

Calloway wasn’t sure what to do. She was so quiet and undecipherable. “How are you?”

“Well,” she said. “How are you?”

“Good,” he said. “Is there something that you need, Beatrice?”

“No,” she said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can I sit down?”

Calloway pulled the chair out for her and helped her into her seat. Her hair was pulled back and the strands ran down her back. It reminded Calloway of a string of golden silk.

“Hello,” she said to Breccan and Easton.

“Hi,” Easton said coldly.

“Yes,” Breccan said awkwardly. Easton turned and glared at him then covered her book with her notebook, hiding it from Beatrice’s view.

The awkward silence stretched for a long time and became more uncomfortable the longer Beatrice sat at the table. Calloway waited for her to address the reason why she was here but she remained silent.

“So, are you enjoying
To Kill A Mockingbird
?” Calloway asked. He knew it was a lame question but he didn’t know what else to say. It was his greatest fantasy to talk to Beatrice but now that it was happening, he didn’t know what to do.

“Well, I already read it and I really enjoyed it. I don’t mind reading it again.”

“Do you read as a hobby?” Calloway asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Other than taking photographs, it’s my favorite pastime.”

“It’s not shopping with your girlfriends or driving around in Hawk’s jeep?” Easton asked coldly.

Calloway glared at Easton then turned back to Beatrice. “Just ignore her—she’s just in a bad mood.”

“And I wonder why,” Easton said.

Calloway ignored her. “How were your holidays?”

“Good,” she said. “How were yours?”

“Great,” Calloway said. “The holidays went by too fast.”

“I’ve had enough of this,” Breccan said. “What’s going on? Why are you here, Beatrice?”

She shifted her weight and looked uncomfortable by the question. “I just wanted to have lunch with Calloway,” she said. She stared at him for a moment then glared at him. “If that’s okay with you,
Your Highness.”

“Yes, it is,” Calloway answered before Breccan could speak. “You are welcome to sit with us.”

“Thank you,” she said. “What are you doing today after school?”

“I have to work,” Calloway answered. “You know, save the world one sandwich at a time.”

Beatrice laughed and Calloway was mesmerized by the sound. He never heard her laugh before. “You feed the hungry and the poor,” she said.

“Well, I don’t know about the poor part.” He laughed. “Those sandwiches are pretty expensive. The only reason why I eat them is because I work there.”

“Yes, they are pricey,” she said. “I like their food though. It’s my favorite sandwich place.”

“Of course it is,” Breccan said sarcastically.

Calloway took a deep breath and ignored his cousin. Beatrice reached into her backpack and withdrew a bag of cookies. She ate one then put the rest on the counter. “You are welcome to have some,” she said.

Breccan’s eyes widened as he stared at the chocolate chip cookies on the table. “Are those
homemade
?”

“Yes,” Beatrice said. “My grandma makes them—they are really good.”

Breccan grabbed the bag and ate one. Easton glared at him. “You are such a traitor.”

Calloway smiled at his cousin then turned back to Beatrice. “That was well played.”

“I didn’t realize your cousin was such a lover of cookies,” Beatrice said as she watched him shovel the food into his mouth.

“He isn’t,” Calloway said. “He’s a lover of
food
. He’ll eat the food right out of a homeless man’s hand.”

“Now you’re just lying,” Breccan said as he wiped his mouth.

Calloway turned back to Beatrice and shook his head. Beatrice laughed as she watched him. When the bell rang overhead, Breccan had eaten all the cookies in the bag—there were a dozen.

Beatrice smiled at him. “Did you like them?”

“Is your grandma a master baker?” Breccan asked.

“No.” Beatrice laughed. “She’s just a grandma.”

“I thought you liked
my
cookies,” Easton said to him.

“I do,” Breccan said. “But those were Christmas cookies. These are chocolate chip cookies.”

Easton shoved her belongings in her backpack then stormed away, leaving the library without a backward glance. Breccan watched her go with a confused expression. “What just happened?” He rose from his chair and followed her out the door.

“Are they an item?” Beatrice asked.

Calloway shrugged. “I don’t know what they are. Sometimes I think they might kill each other and other times they are sweetest couple in the world. I just stay out of it.”

Beatrice smiled. She stood from her chair and Calloway followed her to the exit. There was an awkward silence before she spoke. “Are you and that girl an item?”

Calloway raised an eyebrow. “Who are you referring to?” He was never with a girl on campus except Easton, and it was evident that they were just friends.

“The one you took to winter formal.”

“Oh,” he said. “No. She and I are just friends.” The classroom building was getting closer as they walked to their next class. For some reason, he didn’t like discussing Weston with Beatrice, or anyone for that matter. The thought always made him sad. When he thought about New Year’s Eve, he felt the bile rise in his throat and the anger spread through his body—it wasn’t a good color on him. “We went to the dance as friends.”

“Hawk thought she was your girlfriend.”

Calloway wasn’t sure if that was a question. It seemed like it was by the way Beatrice was staring at him. He already made it clear they were just friends and he wasn’t sure why he needed to repeat it. “Weston just said that so Hawk would stop teasing me. We were just pretending.”

Beatrice nodded. “Well, it worked. I know Hawk believed it as well as everyone else in school. She’s very pretty.”

Calloway didn’t know what to say. He thought that was obvious. She stole the hearts of every man, bird, and creature that she passed, enticing them with her physical appearance as well as her witty charm and beautiful smile. Calloway wished he would stop thinking about her in this way. He was just letting himself get hurt—over and over. “What’s your next class?”

“Economics,” she said.

“That’s not my favorite course,” Calloway said. “I prefer English and photography.”

She raised an eyebrow.
“Photography?”