The Athena Effect (6 page)

“No,” she said, darting into the nearest girl’s restroom to wait him out.

He pulled up alongside her on her way home from school, “Calpurnia?”

“No.” She trudged along, shifting her heavy bag from shoulder to shoulder.

“I like Cali better than Cal… You know, for a girl. How about I call you Cali?” he said, trying to strike up a conversation.

“Suit yourself,” she replied, continuing to walk away.

“Do you want a ride home?”

“No,” she wondered why he wouldn’t just go away.

He wondered why she wasn’t interested in him. “Are you afraid?” he taunted her.

“I happen to value
my
life,” she retorted.

He laughed, “You
are
afraid.”

“And you’re too stupid to wear a helmet.”

He was taken aback, “It wouldn’t matter anyway.”

She cast him a withering glance, “That’s not what the statistics say.”

“Well, I like to be free,” he said defiantly.

“To do what? Donate your organs?” she snapped. She rushed away, eager to get home and take a nap before her aunt had to leave for work. Phil still couldn’t find a job, and he’d started drinking heavily. Too much beer made him dangerous.

She left the house after dark that night, striking out for the night woods. She could hear a raucous party going on in front of Cal’s house; music was playing loud, and the smell of wood smoke and something cooking on a grill made her stomach growl. There were at least seven or eight big, heavy motorcycles parked diagonally in front, and she crossed the street, going out of her way to skirt the house.

She heard a bark, and looked up to see a dark shadow come flying across the street at her. She gasped in horror to see Rufus illuminated by the headlights of an oncoming car; the dog narrowly missed getting flattened.

“Oh Rufus! What are you doing running loose?” she cried, crouching down to greet the happy dog. He wagged his whole body, whimpering like she was a long-lost friend he hadn’t seen for years. He lunged for her face, slathering her with sloppy dog kisses and knocking her over into a weedy patch.

“Hey! Get back here!” a man’s figure came racing up the dark driveway to retrieve the dog. When he saw Cal and Rufus on the ground he ran across the street to them, “Oh my God!”

He grabbed Rufus by the collar, roughly jerking him away from Cal. He looked like he was about to hit him, yelling, “Bad dog! No! Bad boy!”

“It’s okay! It’s okay!” she cried, scrambling to her feet, “He was only being friendly!”

He looked surprised, watching as she brushed herself off. She recognized Cal’s brother from the bus station. Another good looking ne’er do well, she thought.

“Are you alright?” he asked incredulously.

“I’m fine,” she said, picking burrs from her sweatshirt, “But Rufus nearly got run over!”

“How do you know my dog?” he asked suspiciously.

Rufus slipped out of his grasp and rushed back over to Cal, nuzzling her hand and whimpering.

“Calm down,” she told him, pointing to the ground. “Sit.” He plopped down at her feet, and when she bent to scratch him behind the ears he rolled over on his back submissively.

“He’s a good dog,” she said, “You should take better care of him.” She turned to go, walking off into the darkness.

Jarod returned to the ring of people sitting around a fire pit, dragging a dog struggling to go back the way they came from. He found the end of a nylon rope and tied it to Rufus’ collar. “Man, that was weird.”

“Did Rufus put the hurt on someone?” one of his friends asked.

“No… There was this girl… She like, totally had him… like…
hypnotized
or something.” Everyone around the fire broke into laughter, thinking he was making a joke.

Cal’s head snapped up, “Was she blond?”

“Yeah, like with a long braid,” Jarod replied, watching with surprise as his little brother bolted up, nearly knocking over the girl that was perched on his lap.

“Hey!” she cried, standing up and watching him race off into the street.

Cal heard footsteps coming up behind her fast and she wheeled around, hand on her knife. Her eyes were wide with fear; she was relieved to see it was only Calvin trotting towards her.

“Where you headed?” he asked, breathing hard.

“Nowhere,” she replied.

“You shouldn’t be out here all alone,” he said, “This isn’t the best neighborhood.”

“I’m fine,” she said.

She didn’t look fine to him. She looked vulnerable, fragile, and more alone than anyone he’d ever seen before. He had an irrational urge to take her into his arms and hold her close. He’d probably get stabbed if he tried, he thought.

“Listen… My brother got back today, and we’re having a party to celebrate.” He ran his hand through his shaggy hair, “Wanna come over and have a beer or something?”

“No thanks,” she shook her head, wondering why everyone kept offering her beer. She would have had a harder time turning down something to eat. “Goodbye.”

She turned away to walk briskly off into the dark, without looking back. Cal stood watching her go, her long braid swinging gently as she made her way down the deserted street. He had a sudden impulse to follow her, to stay by her side; to take her hand and make sure she got home okay.

Don’t be an idiot, he told himself. She doesn’t even like you.

He walked back to the party slowly, and spent the rest of the night worrying about her.

~

Chapter Five – RUFUS

~

It was frustrating. Cal kept finding himself scanning the crowds at school, looking for her, but unable to catch more than a glimpse as she rounded a corner. She was hard to spot, and there was no denying that she was going out of her way to elude him. He had so many unanswered questions, but she obviously didn’t want to talk to him. She was driving him crazy, and he didn’t know why.

Girls had always liked him, and he was used to getting his way with them. This one obviously didn’t want anything to do with him, and it was aggravating. He couldn’t understand why his charm didn’t work on her. He’d never been ignored like this before.

Everyone at school thought she was weird, and he knew that she was, but he also knew that she was weird in an entirely different way than his classmates suspected.

He couldn’t shake the image of her at the cemetery from his mind. Sometimes he went an entire day without sighting her, and he felt like a fool for being depressed about it. He figured out where her classes were, and found himself lurking around like some stupid girl, trying to come up with a reason to talk to her.

It must be the challenge, he thought.

Now that his brother was home, the party was back on, and there were always plenty of willing girls around to distract him. His older brother’s dealings with shady characters brought them lots of money all of a sudden, and crowds of friends to go along with it.

Jarod rode with a gang of bikers, and after what had happened at the cemetery, Cal did his best to stay out of their business. They all treated him like he was their kid brother, warning him about the dangers of drug use while constantly smoking pot around him. “Stay in school man,” they’d say, “You don’t wanna end up like us.”

Somehow, he didn’t really think they meant it.

It didn’t matter anyway, he thought. He had it made; Jarod didn’t give a damn what he did, supplied him with all the money he needed, and never tried to boss him around like his Dad used to. Sometimes he thought he should drop out to get a job and a place of his own, but he promised Jarod that he’d graduate, and the truth was, the craziness was starting to seem normal. He didn’t really have any plans that went further out than the next weekend.

One particularly rowdy Saturday night the police showed up, responding to a noise complaint. Jarod was drunk and belligerent, and he argued with the cops, ignoring his girlfriend when she tried to calm him down. He pushed her aside blindly, knocking her to the ground, and the cops decided to take him into custody for being drunk and disorderly. She stood wailing as he was handcuffed.

Cal came out of his room to see his brother bent over a police cruiser again, wondering how on earth he was going to post bail this time. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, Rufus broke free and bit one of the cops on the leg. Cal managed to pull the dog back before they could shoot him, but it was too late. Animal control arrived on the scene, and before he knew it Rufus was strangling on the end of a catch pole, loaded into a kennel and whisked away to a certain death.

Everyone scattered, and the harsh light of morning found Cal alone, feeling completely helpless; out of control as usual. He made himself breakfast, put in a call to the bail bondsman, and collapsed on the couch, deflated. There was nothing more depressing than a party house after the party was over.

On Monday, Cal went to school, but he didn’t go to his classes. He followed her, keeping his distance. He watched her pick up her lunch in the cafeteria, slipping some extra fruit into her bag when she thought no-one was looking. She slunk around the corners like a spy, looking over her shoulder and making her way to the most remote spot in the school.

He peeked around the corner of a storage shed, watching in amazement as she took out her lunch and was immediately joined by a chattering pair of blue jays. They perched on her book bag patiently as she lined up some crumbs for them, talking to them in a soft voice. The birds settled down and preened their feathers, completely relaxed around her.

She settled down too, getting a book out of her beat-up bag and leaning back against the wall. He watched her reading, noticing how she kept tucking stray curls back into her loose braid, trying unsuccessfully to keep her hair under control.

He knew it was crazy, but he wanted her to see him, to talk to him. He wanted to look into her eyes again, and see them looking back into his. He didn’t know what he wanted. She looked up with a start, and his heart sank.

When he stepped out from around the corner he fully expected her to take off like the two birds just did. Instead, she looked him over, her brows knitting together with concern.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him. “What happened?”

When he looked into her eyes he saw complete understanding; there was no need to keep up the pretense of control. He wanted to cry, and it was shocking, because he hadn’t allowed himself to feel sad for a very, very, long time. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

“My brother’s in jail, and they’re gonna kill Rufus.”

She frowned, “Why would they punish Rufus?”

He came closer to her, leaning against the same wall she did. “He bit a cop.”

“But he’s a dog,” she said, indignant. “He doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong.”

He nodded, unable to take his eyes away from her face, “They have him at the pound… They’re holding him so they can test him for rabies before they do it.”

“How long does he have?” she asked.

“They’re gonna do it tomorrow.” He slid down the wall, still staring at her.

“You have to get him out of there tonight,” she said quietly.

He sighed with resignation, “I tried to break in last night, but when you get near the place the dogs all go nuts barking, and the security guard comes running.”

She looked down, biting her lip. He watched her profile, and he got the impression she was struggling with something. She finally looked back up, her eyes serious.

“I can help with that.”

~

Cal waited out front that night, full of nervous anticipation. He didn’t know whether he was more excited at the prospect of seeing her, or about what they planned to do. He looked down the street anxiously, afraid she might not show up. When he saw her slim figure approaching he actually felt his heart pounding.

He called out when she drew near, “Hey Cali.”

“Hello Calvin,” she replied.

“That’s not fair,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t guessed your name yet.”

He could see the corner of her lips twitch up, and he realized that he’d never seen her smile. “It’s not Rumplestiltskin,” she said.

“Huh?”

“Nothing,” she looked down, serious again. “Where is this place?”

“It’s on the other side of town,” he said. “We can take my bike.”

She stood her ground, “I’d rather walk.”

“It’s too far to walk,” he countered.

“You’d be surprised at how far I can walk,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

He threw up his hands, “It’s gotta be ten miles!”

She didn’t move, and he started to question the wisdom of involving the strange girl.

“C’mon,” he said, walking over to where his bike was parked, “Look– I got a helmet
and
jacket for you to wear, and I promise I’ll be careful.” He held the gear out to her.

She edged closer tentatively, swallowing hard. The last time she’d been on a bike, it was with her dad. Tears sprang into her eyes, and she was glad it was too dark for him to see.