Talisman (70 page)

I couldn’t help but agree with his “worse things in the world” declaration, especially
after my adventure last night.

“I know,” I acknowledged with a sigh.
  “I’ve been trying to put them out of my mind, but it’s kind of hard when
EVERYONE
is gossiping about you.”  I wasn’t sure how it worked when Samuel was my age, but the high school rumor-mill kept up with the times.   Not only did you have to put up with the usual nasty chatter and hurtful scribbles, whether etched into lockers or penned on the bathroom walls, but the texts, emails, Facebook postings, Tweets, and the occasional video uploaded to YouTube were enough to send any teen into a “social coma”.  Any other time, I’d let something like this simply roll off my back and not give it a second thought, but after the week I’d just had…
Can’t I catch a freakin’ break?
  The thought of a “student-wide brainwashing” sounded really appealing.  If things didn’t get any better, I would have to ask Tanner exactly how that would work.

“I’m sure it’s not
everyone,
” Samuel contended.  “You teenagers and your
drama
.”  He shook his head and let out a laugh.  “Katie wouldn’t gossip about you.”

I lowered my head in shame.
“No, you’re right.  She’s
not
gossiping.  She’s too busy ignoring me for not returning any of her calls this week.  She’s pretty ticked at me…and
I deserve it
,” I affirmed, while the promise I’d made to him about “not shutting people out” socked me straight in the gut.

Though
Samuel didn’t say “it”, the “I-told-you-so” look he shot me was sufficient in getting his point across.  “Katie may be hurt, but she still loves you, Shiloh.  It’ll pass.”  He grinned and added, “Once you’ve apologized to her,
of course
.  Just wait and see.”  Even though I appreciated his assuring “words of wisdom”, I really wanted to get off the subject.

“Hey, why are go
ing into work so early?” I asked.

Samuel’s smile quickly faded. 
“There’s been some safety issues…or rather,
concerns
that have been raised by Xcavare Enterprises.  Mr. Riverside wants all the foremen present at the meeting.  The sale won’t be official until they’re addressed.”  Samuel leaned closer and whispered, “If you ask me, I think he’s trying to back out of the deal.”

I pulled back from Samuel. 
“Why do you think
that?
”  I already knew the answer to that one. 
He thinks he knows where the wand is, so why does he have to buy something he doesn’t need?

“The mine hasn’t had any serious incidents in several years, but Lazarus Xcavare is having his team check on every
safety citation over the past forty-three years and going through the mine with a fine-tooth comb.  I overhead Mr. Riverside’s attorney telling him that even though the contract was signed, any safety violations would make it null and void if they were found before the waiting period was up.  That’s by five o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”  Samuel raised his brow as a curious look crept across his face.  “What’s got me puzzled is why he wants to buy Shiloh Ridge if he’s trying to get out of purchasing the mine?  You wouldn’t happen to know, would you?” Samuel asked with a funny look in his eyes.

“Samuel…
Lazarus Xcavare
isn’t
buying Shiloh Ridge,” I grinned and added, “He can’t.  Its
rightful owner
isn’t selling.”  Strangely, my surrogate father didn’t seem the least little bit surprised.

“I figured as much,”
Samuel added with a knowing grin.  His subdued reaction on the porch the other evening suddenly made sense.

“You knew she couldn’t sell it.  You
knew
Daddy left it to me. 
Didn’t you?
” I deduced.

“Y
ep,” Samuel confirmed as he scanned me from head to toe.  “Your mother must’ve not taken it too bad.  You’re still in one-piece.”

I rolled my eyes
.  “Oh, she took it bad all right, but she’s delusional enough to think that a few random acts of motherly kindness will change my mind…
Not a chance!”
I insisted with a harsh laugh.

While
we stood there amused by the mental image of Charlotte playing the part of “loving mother”, Coach Hayes clomped into the office carrying a stack of files.  He carelessly tossed them on Mrs. Tuttle’s desk and sidled over beside us.

“Oh,
Wallace
,” Coach Hayes remarked with a smirk.  “I
heard
you were back.  You’re a pretty
popular
girl today.”

My scowl wasn’t nearly as obvious as Sam
uel’s.

“
Easy
, Earl,” Samuel growled as he gave Coach Hayes a purposeful, firm nudge.  “You don’t want to get me started on rumors,
now do ya?
”

Thankfully, Samuel’s derisive innuendo shut him up.  Coach Hayes looked a bit edgy as
he huffed out of the office.

“Are you talking about
my mother? The
grieving
widow?” I whispered.

Samuel nodded.  “I’m sorry you found out about it, honey.”

I scowled.  “I don’t see why Daddy put up with it all these years.”

Samuel patted my back. 
“Shiloh, there’s always a reason behind someone’s actions.  Caiden chose to stay.”

I hesitated.
“Did Daddy…
know
about the others?”

Samuel
lowered his head.  “I’m afraid so.  Shiloh, your father and I told each other everything.  Trust me. 
He knew
.”  Samuel looked over at the clock.  “I’ve got to be headin’ down the road, honey…but don’t you pay any attention to those rumors and keep your chin up.  Don’t let those fools see that it bothers you.”

“I won’t,” I replied
half-heartedly.  The rumor-mill was just the icing on the cake.  Realistically, it was all the other layers that had me worried.  My world had changed basically overnight, whether I liked it or not.  My mortality was what concerned me the most.  I just wished my return to school today could have offered me some sort of comfort, instead of bombarding me with bullshit at every turn.

Samuel
didn’t look convinced.  “Now, are you
sure
there isn’t
anything else
that’s been bothering you?  Anything else you want to
get off your chest?
” he stressed.

“
Nope
,” I fibbed.  “Just trivial high school stuff.”

“
All right…If you say so.  After all, you would
never
lie to me,” Samuel remarked as he headed out of the office.  He paused in the doorway and in a serious voice added, “Remember what I said, Shiloh.  Your father told me
everything
.  There were no secrets between us.”

I started to mull over what
Samuel had mentioned about his bond with Daddy no sooner than he’d left — particularly the part about “secrets”.  It really wasn’t
what
he’d said I found peculiar, but rather
how
he had said it.

I wonder if Daddy ever told him about the wand?  He knew
about the land.  Is it possible Samuel knows about that, too?  He seemed suspicious about something.  It sure sounded like his admission was more of an insinuation than a general fact
.

I gla
nced at the clock.  Since there were still five more torturous minutes before lunch period would end, I decided to have an impromptu chat with Mrs. Tuttle to bide some time.  Regrettably, all she wanted to talk about was Daddy’s passing.  Her kind words were touching, but I could have done without the grief counseling. 
Yet another in-your-face reminder that Daddy is gone, but she means well
.  Before long, the bell rang and fifth period was beckoning.  I snuck back to the cafeteria to grab a protein bar and a Diet Coke from the vending machines.  I still hadn’t eaten anything today, and my stomach was roaring like an angry volcano about to erupt.

I poked back to my locker
.  I wasn’t in any hurry to head off to the girls’ locker room to change for gym.  Cooped up with those witches in a confined room while I got dressed —
No thank you!
  I opted to hide out in a nearby restroom to scarf down my modest lunch and kill-off a few more minutes.  Once I’d felt enough time had passed, I headed for the gymnasium with my head held high (but that was so I wouldn’t see any scornful looks being shot from sneering faces along the way).

J
ust as the second bell rang, I ran in to find the girls separated on one side of the gym, already lining up to play volleyball. The guys were assembled on the other, hitting the mats for some more wrestling.  Coach Hayes looked none too pleased about my fashionably late arrival.

“Get changed,
Wallace
, and get on your team’s side!” Coach Hayes yelled as he gruffly motioned me to the team opposite Katie’s.  He had placed me on Kara’s side of the court.  As I entered the locker room, I rolled my eyes and thought,
This day just keeps getting better and better!

I was changed and back out on the gym floor in
just under two measly minutes.  I kept my eyes focused on the side where the girls’ volleyball game was about to start.  Since I was still on everyone’s “rumor radar”, I didn’t want anyone catching me looking over towards the mats.  Surely they would think I was trying to catch a glimpse of Mike.  Even if I’d wanted to look at anyone, it would have been
Ty
.  Sadly however, after the latest round of gossip (courtesy of Kara Leighton), I feared he probably didn’t even want to be in the same room with me.

I jogged over to
my team’s side and took a spot on the rear row.  Kara glared at me throughout our
entire
first match, no matter what position she held.  We lost, mostly because she was more interested in tossing me dirty looks, rather than smacking the volleyball over the net.  My contribution to the game was flawless. 
Everyone noticed too
.  I even overheard some of the guys waiting to take their turns on the mats making various comments about my tight “athletic skills”.  The fact that I thought of Kara’s face every time I smacked the ball paled in comparison to the power the wand had given me (but I thought the mental image couldn’t hurt).

We were about to start our second match when I noticed Ty and Mike taking the
same mat from out of the corner of my eye.  I didn’t need any telepathic powers to clue me in on their intentions.  Their scathing body language was blatantly clear.  Ty looked like he could rip Mike’s head off without even blinking.  Mike’s cocky attitude didn’t help matters.  His snide grin was egging Ty on as they assumed their positions.  You couldn’t cut the tension in the air around them with a knife, though a chainsaw would hit it right.  At the sound of Coach Hayes’ silver whistle, they were on top of each other and rolling around like two wild junkyard dogs.  No sooner than one had the other close to being pinned, they would break free and then turned the tables on the other.  They went back and forth like this for a good while, each time with increased ferocity.  Though the score appeared to be tied, this was no friendly high school gym match.  It was obvious that this rowdy bout wouldn’t be over even after
someone’s shoulders were successfully pinned.

This was a déjà vu moment if there ever was one.  I was too focused on their little grudge match to realize
that my team had been trying to get my attention so they could start the next game.  Soon, they too were engrossed in watching the match unfold into a savage brawl on the other side of the gym.  Mike was even sneaking in a few illegal moves.  I glanced over at Coach Hayes, who didn’t seem to care.  He couldn’t have been more oblivious to Mike’s “choke hold” or even the blow the star quarterback drove into Ty’s back if he tried.

What gives?  This i
s high school wrestling, not a WWE smack down
.  Even the guys on the sidelines were all riled up and picking sides as they chanted for their intended victor.  Mike managed to throw his knee into Ty’s chest, and
still
Coach Hayes said nothing.  I doubt the word “penalty” even entered that pea-brained head of his.  Suddenly, Mike hooked one of his elbows behind Ty’s knee and the other behind his head.  Once Mike felt he had a firm lock on him, the cocky jock began to slide his knee up for his final move, inevitably leaving Ty pinned.  With Mike’s knee planted firmly against Ty’s back, he began to rock Ty onto his shoulders.

Fortunately, Ty was incredibly agile, as he proved on the dance floor last Saturday night.  When Mike went in for the kill, Ty arched his
frame high off the mat, shifting all of his weight back onto his shoulders in one swift maneuver.  Mike’s cradle-hold broke when Ty threw all of his weight forward.  Ty managed to land firmly on his feet in a low squat and then swooped around in less than a second. He grabbed both of Mike’s legs, just as the cocky jock tried to rise into a countering stance.  Before Mike realized what was happening, Ty pounced on top of him and drove Mike’s shoulder blades down onto the blue mat.  At the sound of Coach Hayes’ whistle, half the class erupted in cheers for Ty.  The other half seemed dissatisfied the match had ended without bloodshed.