The Childe (6 page)

“Isaac look at your sister,” Amelia said sweetly. Isaac, who was on his cell phone and not paying attention to anything around him, ignored her. In frustration Amelia tossed back her long blonde hair and dug her dark red finger nail into his arm while pointing at Hannah. “Look!” she repeated. His gaze fell on his sister and anger surged through him.

“Hannah, get over here now!” his voice echoed loudly throughout the vast room. Everyone went silent and turned toward him. He appeared not to notice.

“See you later,” Hannah murmured to Cat before hurrying over to her brother’s table.

“What an arrogant ass, I should go over there and give him a piece of my mind!” Cat whispered angrily.

Julie grabbed her by the arm. “Settle down, he’s not worth the effort. Plus your brother told you not to mess with them.” Julie’s voice seemed to calm Cat and her friends watched as her eyes slowly lost their rage.

Cat took a deep breath, “I don’t know why I let him get to me!”

The bell rang and everyone scattered. Ryan stood and stared at Cat as she left the cafeteria and was swallowed up by the mass exodus of bodies.

Miss Amaya walked into her sixth period with a brightly colored scarf wrapped around her neck, almost touching the floor. She wore a bracelet with tiny bells, smiling silver moon shaped earrings and a pendant on a silver chain engraved with the words,
My Earth Smiles.
Cat instantly knew that this woman would prove to be interesting. “Hello Class, sorry I wasn’t here with you all yesterday, I had some last minute paperwork that had to be dealt with.” Picking up a piece of purple chalk, she wrote her name whimsically on the board, ending it with an exaggerated exclamation point. As she took the roll, she asked each student to tell a little about themselves.

“Catherine Colvin…Colvin? I know a professor at Covington State College by that name, any relation?” she queried Cat.

“He’s my dad,” Cat replied.

“Well say hello to him for me won’t you? I took a few of his classes and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Especially the one about the history and application of witchcraft and wizardry, simply fascinating stuff,” Miss Amaya gushed.

After she finished the roll, Miss Amaya stood in front of her desk and spread her arms wide. “I know we’ll be fast friends this semester. That’s why I want you to call me by my first name. Of course due to school policy, it has to be prefaced with a Miss, but I can deal with that.” she smiled. “Now, open your textbooks to the first chapter. And welcome to Earth Science.” Cat sighed. Looking around the classroom she noticed Miss Amaya’s effect on everyone. They were hanging on her every word.

Elle leaned over, “I am really going to enjoy this class. She almost doesn’t seem real.” Cat nodded in agreement.

“You! Can you tell me how to do this equation?” Mr. Crawley said pointing his stubby, jagged-nailed finger at Cat.

“Umm, sir, we haven’t covered that yet.”

His angry eyes bored into her. “It’s in the next chapter…you mean you haven’t read it? Should I have to tell you to read it?” He approached her desk and put his hands on either side of it. “I’m sorry, but we’re not like your old
SNOBBY
institution where you were spoon fed information. We actually have to do our own work here.” He backed up and glared at the rest of the class, still pointing his finger at Cat. “Class, this is an example of a poor student. Not prepared, not thinking ahead and has to be told what to do. Poor little spoiled girl, daddy can’t help you now.” Cat bent her head toward her desk, the heat of embarrassment filling her face. Mr. Crawley walked back to his desk, sat down, and stared at the shocked faces before him. “Get to work!” he said sternly as he picked up the daily paper and rustled it open.

After class, Cat walked down the hallway, her head hung low. Tears filled her eyes before she reached her locker. Suddenly, she bumped into someone. Without looking up she murmured her apology and waited for the person to move out of the way. Realizing they weren’t moving, she wiped her tears and raised her head meeting the piercing blue eyes of Astoria High’s star running back, Ryan Beckford.

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked, his voice filled with concern. She stood shell shocked, not sure what to say. She wished he would just leave her alone. The last thing she wanted to do was to cry in front him. She didn’t cry pretty, her face always became blotchy and her eyes swelled.

“Cat what’s going on?” Amanda asked coming up beside Ryan, followed by Matt and Julie. Seeing the tear tracks on Cat’s face, three pairs of questioning eyes turned to Ryan.

“Oh hi guys, I had something in my eye and it was bothering me,” Cat explained hurriedly. “Sorry I bumped into you Ryan! Got to go! Mascot tryouts you know.” He gave her a puzzled look. “No, not me, a friend,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Come on people move it or we’ll be late.” She grabbed Matt’s hand and practically ran down the hall with him in tow, Amanda following quickly behind.

Julie blocked Ryan’s exit, her hands on her hips. “What was that all about? Did you make her cry?” she asked coldly.

“No, I didn’t. She ran into me. You better go after her, she seemed really upset about something,” he answered.

“This is a warning! If I find out you did upset her, things will not go well for you!” she said sternly and then stormed down the hall, not waiting for his reply.

What was that all about? That girl’s intense! I didn’t even do anything. Females are so complicated!
he thought.

Reaching the gym, the four friends went inside. Surprisingly, it was empty. “Are you sure this is where the tryouts are?” Matt asked.

“Yeah, that’s what the flyer said,” Cat confirmed. “Let’s sit and wait a few minutes and see if anyone shows up. I hope we didn’t miss it. I promised Elle we’d be here,” she said with no sign of tears left on her face. A few minutes later a door at the far end of the gym opened and a miserable looking Elle emerged.

“This doesn’t look good,” Matt whispered.

“Hey Elle, what’s wrong, did tryouts get canceled?” Cat asked as she came closer.

“No…no one showed up but me. So I got it…by default. I’m the new Panther and I think I’m gonna be sick,” Elle said, looking more pale than usual.

“You’ll be great!” Cat said putting her arm around Elle’s shoulder and giving her a light squeeze. “You’ll be the best mascot this school’s ever seen, and we’ll be your biggest fans!”

Elle’s smile was a little off. “Thanks guys.”

“What are friends for?” Amanda exclaimed, putting Elle in a headlock as she rubbed her head.

“Hey Elle, what happened to tryouts?” Hannah asked coming up behind them as they were exiting the gym.

“Well no one showed, so I’m it by default…uh, I’ve got to pee!” she squeaked, hurrying toward the bathroom at the end of the hall.

“Is she okay?” asked Hannah.

“It’s the nerves, she’ll be fine though. She just needs time to warm up to the idea of being in the spotlight,” Cat explained.

“Hey Hannah, how do you like our art teacher Mr. Rosenbaum?” Matt queried, unaware of her blushing pink cheeks.

“He’s, uh, really cool, and uh, I think it’ll be fun,” she replied quickly, her nerves evident in her voice.

Oblivious to her embarrassment, Matt continued. “Yeah, I agree. I’m not much of a painter but I’m gonna give it a try.”

“Don’t be so modest. Hannah, last year our Matt here won second place at the town youth art fair. Though, I couldn’t make out what he painted,” Amanda joked, punching him in the arm.

“Hannah, do you need a ride home?” Cat asked.

“No, my brother’s supposed to drive me, but as you can see he is nowhere to be found. Mom will kill him if he has forgotten about me.” She grinned. “I love it when he gets in trouble.” Everyone laughed. Hannah quickly glanced over at Matt and Cat saw her blush deepen even more.

Looks like Hannah might have a thing for Matt
, she thought. Matt turned in Hannah’s direction and she quickly dodged his glance.

“Hannah, what are you doing? Where have you been?” A harsh voice came from behind them.

“Oh Isaac, so nice of you to show up!” she replied with her hands on her hips.

“Let’s go, now!” he growled, roughly grabbing her by the arm and pulling her behind him. She turned and waved, giving the group a mischievous grin. Cat laughed as she realized that she was not going easily, but dragging her feet, as Isaac tried to hurry her along.

Isaac slammed the car door shut and sat looking straight ahead. “How dare you embarrass me if front of those cretins? What have I told you about talking to them? They’re not like us. Mortals are below us! What will it take for you to understand this?” he exploded.

Hannah turned and looked at him, her eyes blazing with anger. “Me? What about your behavior? Acting like you’re a God and everyone should jump when you say jump. I’ve decided that I’ll make friends with whomever I want to and if you don’t like it, tough! Deal with it! What have they ever done to you to make you so hateful? You and mother are just alike, cold and unfeeling. I’m glad I take after dad. I’d hate to be like you. Now we’d better get home, otherwise we’ll be in big trouble. Remember mom told us to come home right after school!” She turned and looked out the passenger side window trying not to show him the fear she felt. She had never talked that way to her brother before, but from somewhere deep, this other part of her had lashed out.

Isaac sat looking into the rear view mirror.
Did she really just talk to me like that? My little, quiet sister? What have those people done to her?
He thought, his hands grinding on the steering wheel. Without a word, he started the car and gunned it out of the parking lot.

“Poor Hannah,” said Elle, having returned from the bathroom just in time to witness the incident. “I wouldn’t want a brother like him, he’s horrible. This is why I’m glad I’m an only child.”

Isaac and Hannah rode home in silence. As soon as the car stopped in the driveway, she jumped out and ran inside the house, slamming the front door behind her. As she made her way down the hall, she heard noises coming from her father’s study. The door was propped slightly open. She peeked in and saw her father on his hands and knees looking under his desk. The room was in shambles. Books and papers were strewn about as if a tornado had just passed through. She was surprised to see him awake and in such a state of panic.

Lucien Bancroft shoved his hand under the desk as far as his arm could reach. Coming away with nothing, he raised himself to his knees and put his face in his hands. “Where could it be? It has to be here somewhere. I just saw it the other day. Where is it? Where is it? I must find it. Please let me find it. I couldn’t bear not finding it. It’s all I have left of her,” he rambled on.

Hannah quietly walked into the room and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Daddy, what’s wrong? What have you lost?” she asked softly. He stiffened and then raised his head, his eyes red and swollen.

“Hannah, what are you doing home?” he asked in confusion.

“It’s time for me to be home, school’s over.”

“Oh, I must have lost track of the time, I-I need a drink. Where did I put that bottle?” he mumbled to himself. Hannah watched as he found the bottle and took a large gulp. He then staggered over to the couch and fell onto it, spilling some of the liquid onto the rug. Sighing, she went over and kissed his cheek, realizing that he had forgotten she was there, and then quietly left the room.

Isaac stood outside the door, a sneer on his face. “Daddy dearest, inebriated as usual? Why does that always surprise you sister? You think you’d learn by now, how weak he truly is.” Hannah glared angrily at him and stormed up the stairs, his laughter ringing in her ears.

4

The Carnival