The Glass Wall (Return of the Ancients Book 1) (5 page)

“Ah, the cliques,” Ellison said, taking a big bite of his bologna sandwich. “I forgot to tell you about them.”

I peered around the lunchroom. It was large. Floor-to-ceiling windows covered one wall and a series of vending machines and microwaves covered the other. A myriad of students lounged on large round tables and black plastic chairs.

Ellison began to rattle off the list of cliques as he pointed to each table with his sandwich. “The Potheads, Preps, Socially-Awkwards, Nerds, World-of-Warcrafters, Lax-Bros, and the Footballers.”

The World-of-Warcrafters sitting at the table next to us overheard him and smirked. A few stood up and did a little cheer while making signs of the letter W with their fingers.

“And, of course,” Ellison added with a cheeky grin, “the most epic and elite of all the groups: The Completely Awesomes. But, there’s only one member that qualifies for that one—Me.”

His friends groaned.

“Just kidding,” Ellison laughed. “We’re mostly Lax-Bros and a few resident nerds.”

It was easy to identify the two nerds. They were the only ones who didn’t have some form of a lacrosse symbol on their T-shirts or jackets.

Ellison was still speaking, “But don’t let us fool you. We’re just like the public schools, only we are sneakier.”

“Yeah!” One of the Lax-Bros said. “Instead of fighting upfront with our fists, we’ll accidentally whack you with a lacrosse stick on the back and say ‘sorry’.”

They all started laughing.

I couldn’t tell if they were joking or not, but decided not to pursue it. The conversation changed to an upcoming soccer game and they all invited me to go with them, several times.

“She’ll be there,” Ellison finally said. “You know Grace won’t miss it.”

There was something about the way he said her name that caught my attention. I glanced at him in surprise, but he grabbed his tray and left.

“Ellison’s in love with Grace,” someone whispered. “She never notices him. He spends all of his time writing poetry and songs—”

The bell interrupted us and Ellison reappeared to escort me to my next class.

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

I was overwhelmed. I was going to have to study until midnight each day to catch up. My head was pounding and finally the last bell rang and the day was over.

I felt completely drained.

Grace was waiting for me at the bottom of the bridge, and I was too tired to read the inspirational words in the cement. I made a mental note to read them in the morning as I climbed into Betty’s truck.

“How was school?” Betty asked as we drove away.

“It was school,” I said.

She smiled, but then, it seemed Betty smiled a lot.

We picked up some groceries and ran a few errands, arriving at home just as Al pulled up into the driveway.

I grabbed several grocery bags and headed toward the house when the trashcan in the driveway caught my attention.

My heart stopped.

Jerry’s cardboard box lay on top, tilted on its side. The old sweater I used for his bed was gone.

I dropped the groceries and glass shattered as I ran to the trash can.

“What is it?” I heard Betty ask.

I shook the box, turning it upside down, and began a frantic search.

I found the old sweater, but there was no sign of Jerry.

Tears threatening, I turned to my foster family standing in the driveway, “What did you do with him? Why did you touch my stuff?”

“I didn’t touch your things, honey,” Betty said, frowning. She looked at the box. “I just cleaned your room today and found that old box under the bed. I must have missed it before, looks like some mouse was trying to make a home there.”

I choked.

Jerry was gone.

Heartbroken and angry, I shouted with a shaking voice, “Don’t touch my things!”

They stared at me, obviously confused.

I was faintly aware of Rafael standing across the street, watching with his Doberman, but I didn’t care. I continued to shout, “Just because you’re helping an unwanted foster kid, it doesn’t mean that I don’t count! You still can’t touch my things! I’m still just as valuable as other people are and my feelings count too!”

I ran into the house, not even sure why I had said those things. I locked the door to my room and began a desperate search, but Jerry was long gone.

Finally, I sat on the floor, clutched my knees, and let the tears loose.

They knocked on my door, several times, but I ignored them.

At one point, I heard someone pushing something under the door. It was a piece of paper with cheese and crackers on it. I guess Betty was worried that I hadn’t had dinner, but there was no way I could eat a thing. I’d just lost my only friend. No, Jerry wasn’t just a friend. He was my family.

The thought of him being cold, hungry or eaten by a cat made me break down into a fresh bout of tears. I cried myself to sleep that night, crying harder for Jerry than I ever had for my mother.

The next morning, I appeared at the breakfast table with puffy eyes. The conversation was polite. No one mentioned the box or the events of the night before.

Later at school, as we walked up the sidewalk, Grace finally asked, “Are you okay?”

I wondered why she even bothered to ask. I was sure she didn’t even like me. I didn’t want to think of Jerry. I was tired of crying. “No,” I said shortly.

She just looked at me and shrugged.

I walked past the priest who greeted me by name, but I just ducked my head. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone.

Ellison met me at the entrance. I’m sure he noticed my swollen eyes, but he didn’t mention them. He took me to our mentor group meeting. It was strange. They didn’t do anything for half an hour other than talk to each other about their weekend plans. I didn’t understand the point of the meeting. I kept looking out the window, trying not to think of Jerry and his tiny paws.

School dragged on forever that day. I couldn’t concentrate. Everyone left me alone, and for that, I was grateful.

Finally, the last bell rang.

I gathered my mound of books and walked down to the truck, not even caring to read the inspirational words anymore.

No one spoke on the way home, and as soon as the engine stopped, I escaped to my room.

I clicked the lock shut and dumped my books on the bed. There was nothing to do but study. It was just as well. It would keep my mind off Jerry.

I had just opened my notebook when I heard a light tap on my bedroom window.

The form of someone tall stood outlined against the glass.

Startled, I leapt back, barely registering that it was Rafael. I almost screamed anyway.

“Sydney!” I heard his muffled voice. He was looking at me through the glass.

I stared in shock, wondering if Al knew he was there, but then I became distracted as I noticed Rafael was wearing blue eye shadow on his left eye. It wasn’t just a tiny touch of makeup; it was a bold artistic pattern that curved in a swirl around his eyebrow.

I kept staring, recalling the creepiness of the greenbelt incident again, when I saw something round and furry sitting on his shoulder.

It was Jerry, perched like a parakeet.

My heart stopped.

Rafael was saying something. I saw his lips moving, his expressive face frowning a little, and then he turned and walked away.

As he disappeared around the corner of the house, I ran out of my room, tripping over Betty’s boxes in the living room.

Where had he gone?

The front doorbell rang, but Betty was there before me.

“Good evening, Mrs. Mackenzie.” I heard Rafael’s silky voice float through the entrance. “I do believe I’ve found someone that belongs to Sydney.”

I pushed my way past Grace and Al to see Rafael raise his hand to his shoulder and Jerry promptly jump onto his finger like some kind of performing animal. With a graceful flourish, Rafael extended his hand in my direction.

“Pardon?” Betty finally found her voice.

I couldn’t blame her. Being presented with a mouse was strange enough, but having Rafael deliver it was even stranger. With his outrageously styled blond hair and blue makeup on one eye, he looked very much like a magician.

“This is Sydney’s mouse,” he explained easily, as if it were common to find lost mice every day. “I believe she was looking for him yesterday?”

Betty, Al, and Grace turned to me.

I swallowed and nodded, wondering if I were stuck in some bizarre dream.

“Oh!” Betty’s face suddenly flooded with understanding. “So, this is why you were so upset, honey? This is your mouse?”

“Come in,” Grace invited with a smile. “I’m Grace.”

Rafael obliged and introduced himself to Al and Grace while still holding Jerry.

Betty turned to me in obvious relief. “I didn’t know you had a pet, honey, now I see why you were so upset! Oh, I feel terrible! I didn’t mean to throw him away!”

“How did you find it?” Al asked Rafael, sounding very suspicious.

His question shook me out of my stupor. I wanted to know the same thing.

“By lucky chance,” Rafael replied smoothly. “I saw Sydney with Jerry in the woods a couple of days ago and when I came across a tame mouse this afternoon, I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. One does not come across tame mice very often.”

As his enigmatic gray eyes bore into mine, my heart stopped again.

“You saw Sydney in the woods?” Grace was asking with a frown.

I was terrified. There was something very wrong here. So he
had
seen me, but that didn’t bother me nearly as much as a new question suddenly springing to mind. Just how did he know Jerry’s name?

“Al, why don’t you run down to the store and pick this mouse up a cage,” Betty said. She was obviously very relieved. She turned to Rafael. “I don’t know how to thank you, young man. Sydney was distraught, I tell you, utterly distraught.”

“I know,” Rafael replied, looking straight at me. He stepped close and placed his elegantly shaped fingers on my wrist. Turning my hand over, he set Jerry gently in my palm and leaned down to murmur in my ear, “Jerry loves you dearly. He has no desire to be free. He prefers a cage—your cage.”

His eyes pierced mine and I felt a shiver run up my spine.

“What a sweet mouse,” Betty commented, cooing at Jerry along with Grace. “And how sweet of you, Rafael, to bring our Sydney’s mouse back home. I can’t thank you enough.”

Sweet was the farthest thing from
my
mind. I was becoming downright terrified. I felt the hair on my neck rising even as I clutched Jerry close to my heart.

“I must be going,” Rafael said and dipped in a slight bow to all of us.

With that, he was gone.

“Did you see how he bowed?” Al asked after Rafael had left and Betty had closed the front door. “That was a Japanese bow. I should know. I was stationed in Okinawa. He might be from Japan. I read that some of those young boys there wear makeup now.”

“He’s so nice,” Grace murmured, a little dreamy-eyed.

“I’m happy for you, Sydney,” Betty said, putting her arm around my shoulder. She frowned at Al. “Go to the store and get a cage, honey! We can’t have Jerry getting loose again.”

“Can I come with you?” I heard my voice asking.

Al nodded.

“We can discuss your battle plan on the way,” I continued.

His face split into a wide smile and he held the door open for me.

Yes, I was now firmly in Al’s camp. There was something very wrong with these neighbors, and I promised to devote all of my energy into helping him discover what it was.

Chapter Four - The Stealth-Twig

We went to a pet store and Al bought Jerry a big cage and even one of those hamster wheels that I’d always wanted to get him.

On the way home, we discussed his battle plan. It involved thorough surveillance and the documentation of evidence. He’d ordered a Camera Rock and a remote-controlled Stealth-Twig. Both transmitted live feeds that he could record on tape and view later. He was excited about the Stealth-Twig. It was a video camera disguised to look just like a branch with leaves, and he could control it with a remote while sitting in the kitchen.

I had to admit that it all sounded pretty interesting. I wondered if I could make the twig climb the wall of Rafael’s house and have it peer through
his
window.

When we got home, Al had Betty look up the tracking numbers of his camera shipments to see how far away they were from being delivered.

I lugged the cage to my room and began to set up Jerry’s new home.

Grace asked if she could help me.

It was a little awkward, having her in my room. I didn’t know what to say to her, but she was so kind to Jerry that I found myself warming up a little bit.