Beckoning Light (6 page)

“I’ll see you in class, then,” James said, as I stepped out of the car. As I turned to pull the front door closed behind me, I saw that James was still waiting by the curb. He waved as he pulled away.

I ran up the stairs as fast as I could and closed myself in with my library books. I knew that I didn’t have much time before Monty and Kevin got home. I found the pages I was looking for quickly. The oldest book was the most helpful. From the time I was a child, the gate had been covered in overgrown moss and vines, but looking at the picture I could tell that originally it had been stunning. In one close-up, I noticed that there was a keyhole on the lower right side. I had always assumed the gate was welded shut or just for show and not meant to be opened, but if there was a keyhole, then perhaps it could be unlocked. Suddenly, I knew that I had to find out what was behind the gate; all I needed was the key.

I walked across the hall to the room that had been my grandfather’s study. My dad had never emptied out the old desk, even though it had been years since my grandfather’s death. The old wooden desk was full of papers and, after sorting through piles of documents, I did manage to uncover two pencil drawings of the gate. Even though the pages were smudged, the pictures were detailed, and I guessed that my grandfather had been just as intrigued by the gate as I was. I kept searching for more, but got sidetracked when I found my mother’s old jewelry box.

Dark wood with a blue ‘E’ written on the top, the box wasn’t particularly fancy. Still, the box brought back so many memories of my mother. When I was little, I would help her pick out jewelry for special occasions. She always humored my selections, even though I was sure they weren’t always best. I sat on the floor of the study holding the box and, for the second time that day, I cried. All of my pent-up emotions about my mother spilled out. I couldn’t bring myself to open the box, so I brought it across the hall to my bedroom and put it in my own desk drawer. I knew I was running out of time before Monty and Kevin got back, so I went out to examine the gate. I found the keyhole behind years of overgrown vines and moss.

Chapter Five

Kevin

As the referee blew his whistle, I made my move. It was the fourth quarter against Myrtle Beach High School, and we were down by one point with only seconds left. Liam had the ball at the courtside ready to pass. First, I led my opponent into a screen by Mike before becoming open at the three-point line. Liam threw me the ball. I began a fake shot, only to dribble toward the goal around a startled guard. I ran around the defense and performed a reverse layup. As the ball hung in the air, a silence fell over the crowd. The ball gently kissed the glass as the buzzer rang, then fell through the hoop, winning the game.   

Man, it felt good to be back on the court. It was my first game since getting back to Charleston and, even though I would have preferred to start with a home game, playing somewhere else took off some of the pressure. It was also fun to be playing on Monty’s team. He had always been a great coach, even though I had never gotten the impression that basketball was his favorite thing. He seemed more into his music.

I went along with the post-game motions, shaking hands with the opposing team and accepting congratulations from the few fans that had come to watch, but I could tell that some of the guys on the team were annoyed with me. It wasn’t like I didn’t get it. I showed up here a few weeks into the season and, in theory, took away some of their playing time, but the guys who looked angry weren’t the ones who would have had the chance to make the final shot. If anything, Liam should have been mad; he’s the one who could have made the shot, but it was pretty obvious that he didn’t care. He just seemed to be glad that we had won. I just hoped that the next game wouldn’t come down to a last-minute shot; I would have preferred a large lead.

We got back on the bus, and I sat in the back with Liam and the rest of the varsity team. The same players were still giving me rude looks, so I decided to call them on it.

“Do you have a problem?” I asked the group in general.

“Maybe we do,” a junior answered. “You show up here, and suddenly you’re the one who gets to make the winning shot just because you’re the coach’s nephew.”

This guy couldn’t be serious. “Yeah, so you think it was favoritism that gave me game time, not that Coach wanted us to win?” I asked, and Liam started to laugh.

Liam tried to diffuse the situation. “Seriously, guys, lay off. Just be happy we won, and we still have a chance to make the playoffs.”

  The annoying kid turned around in his seat, but not without mumbling, “At least if we have to be stuck with the Calloways again, one of them is hot.”

“Is that punk seriously talking about my sister that way with me here?” I asked Liam angrily. Complaining about my playing time was one thing, but talking about my sister that way was off limits.

“Just let it go, Kevin. They shouldn’t be talking about her that way, but I get it,” Liam said.

“You what?” I hoped Liam wasn’t actually defending the kid.

“I just mean that your sister isn’t a kid anymore. Guys are going to notice her, including guys on this team.”  

“Easy for you to say.” I tried to calm down.

“I care about her too, but I think that it just goes with the territory of having a little sister, you know?”

I didn’t have a chance to respond. Suddenly, Brian, the point guard, pulled off his earphones and turned around to look at us. “Are you guys talking about Charlotte?”

“Yeah.” I wondered why Brian was suddenly joining the conversation.

“Liam introduced me to her in gym the other day. She seems pretty cool.”

“Yeah, she can be.” I was a little surprised that he chose to describe her as
cool
.

“It also looked like you taught her how to shoot,” he said casually. 

“Yeah, Charlotte could be good at sports; she just doesn’t like to be on teams or something.” I wasn’t sure where the conversation was going.

“Well, she’s in good shape.” He must have noticed the look of confusion on my face because he added, “I mean, she looks like she probably works out or something.”

“Not really, I think it’s just good genes.” I hoped he was just wondering why she wasn’t on the girls team.

“Oh, makes sense. Anyway, I invited her to the party I’m having Friday night, and she said she’d come.”

“She said she would come to your party?” I was sure Brian could hear the surprise in my voice.

“Yeah, her and a friend.”

Wow, Charlotte was actually doing well. I had been really nervous for her. I hadn’t talked to her much in the last two days, but I wondered why a senior wanted my sister at his party. I made a mental note to ask Liam later.

“Great, it’ll be a little weird to be at the same party as my sister, but it’s fine.”

Things had really changed around here. Liam had always been my friend, but he hadn’t been exactly what I would call athletic. I wasn’t complaining. It was great being on the team together, but it felt different. And what about Charlotte?  I knew at some point I was going to have to deal with her and boys, but I had thought I would have more time.

As everyone filed off the bus, I signaled for Liam to stay back with me. “So, are there any guys I need to kill if they go near my sister?”

“Well, I would be wary of Brian. He’s cool and all, but I think he kind of likes to go for the younger girls.” Liam must have seen the look of concern on my face, because he continued, “Yeah, but I doubt he’ll try anything anytime soon, and I’ll watch out, too.”

“Thanks, I can use whatever help I can get.” And it seemed I might need more help than I had thought. 

“Well, I don’t have any little sisters to watch out for, so I might as well help look after yours.” He paused, then added, “Oh, and I almost forgot, there’s also that James kid.”

“James?”

“Yeah, the one who took Charlotte to the library yesterday? I don’t know much about him, but he seemed a little too excited about studying.” Evidently, Liam assumed I knew something about a guy taking Charlotte to the library. Monty had only told me she had gotten a ride home from a classmate.

“Good to know. Any chance you could point him out to me tomorrow?”

“Yeah, not a problem.”

I felt a little better after talking to Liam; at least I knew to watch out for Brian, and I had a heads up on James, whoever he was. I was glad I had a few months to help get Charlotte settled before I took off, but I was suddenly realizing that my sister having a social life might be a double-edged sword.

Chapter Six

Charlotte

“So, are you still planning to go to Brian’s party tonight?” Monty asked, as he joined me on the bench next to the fountain in the garden. Monty had already disconnected the water for the season, but I reconnected it, wanting to hear the relaxing sound of running water. I had always loved the garden and, even in November, it still seemed to be partially in bloom. 

“I think I may go,” I said distractedly.

“Only go if it’s what you want to do. I know Kevin was giving you a hard time about trying to be social, but whether you go to parties or not isn’t important. And if you do go, be careful. They’re all pretty good kids, but most of them are older than you, and you just never know.”

“Yes,
Dad
,” I said, drawing out the word Dad.

“Hey, I’m just trying to look out for you. I feel bad that I haven’t been around enough since you got here. I feel like we haven’t talked much.” He looked concerned.

I tried to reassure him. “I’m fine, Monty. And I’m used to minimal adult supervision. Dad was usually working, and I understand how busy basketball season is. Plus, I’m almost sixteen, not a little kid anymore.”

“But you do know that you’re more important than my team, right? If you need me, I’m here.”

“I know. Please don’t worry about me, I’m fine.” I smiled to get my point across.

“If you say so, but let’s just try to talk more in the future, okay?” He looked at me for agreement.

“We’ll talk more, I promise,” I assured him before changing the subject. “So, do you think Kevin will drive me to the party tonight?”

  In gym, Anna had told me she was getting a ride with a junior and checked to make sure I didn’t need to be picked up.  I decided that I would take my chances with Kevin. That way, if he didn’t want to drive me, I had a good excuse not to go.

“If not, I will,” Monty offered.

“Um, Monty, that’s really generous, but—”

“What? I’m not cool enough?” he asked.

“You’re a teacher,” I reminded him.

“Fair enough. I’m sure Kevin will give you a ride.”

Monty walked away after gently patting my shoulder; I could tell that he still worried about me. I hated seeing Monty concerned; I didn’t want him to consider me a burden or anything. We had all taken my mom’s death hard, but Monty changed more than the rest of us. He was always a worrier, but now it was like he walked around with a huge weight on his shoulders.  

I sat outside staring at the wrought iron gate for over an hour. I had been told I could never go back there, and I had never pressed the issue much. I had tried the gate once or twice as a child, but it had always been locked, and I never thought much of it. Since Wednesday, I had spent hours thinking about the gate. I thought about asking Monty about it, but he had always been so adamant that I stay away from it that it didn’t seem worth getting him angry. At a quarter to eight, I went up to my room to get ready for the party. As much as I hated social occasions, I knew I couldn’t get out of it now. Kevin actually seemed excited to give me a ride. Besides, what else was I going to do? I figured I’d go for an hour, and then come home and read. I pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans and a lightweight purple V-neck sweater. Passing on my usual sneakers, I forced myself to wear a pair of black boots. Boots weren’t the most comfortable, but I figured I should at least appear to be making an effort. I straightened my ponytail and put on a pair of simple earrings. Satisfied with my appearance, I went downstairs where Kevin was already waiting.

“I can’t believe you are actually going,” he said after we said goodbye to Monty and headed out the door.

“Gee, thanks, Kevin.” I wasn’t really annoyed but I tended to get snippy when nervous.

“Oh, come on. Lighten up, you might actually have fun.”

“Sure. I’m going, at least give me credit for that, okay? But really, thanks for driving me. I assume you could have been taking someone else?” I ventured.

Kevin chortled. “What’s better than showing up at a party with my kid sister?” Unfortunately, it was a short ride.  Kevin looked over at me as he parked along the curb. “Try to have fun. Okay?”

“Sure, I’ll try.” I hoped it wouldn’t take too much effort.

The party was in full swing when we arrived. We were hit with blaring music as soon as we opened the door. I recognized some of the kids there, but not most, probably because it was mostly seniors. Walking into the party was just about as scary as I had expected, with all eyes fixed on us, but it was also a relief not to be walking in alone. I spotted Anna waving, so I walked over. Kevin was probably relieved to get rid of me.

Anna introduced me to her friend Molly, the girl who had given her the ride. Molly seemed really nice, but just as boy crazy as Anna. It didn’t take long before they zeroed in on some senior boys. I took the opportunity to wander around, already thinking of escape.

I walked into the kitchen and started looking around for a soda or something; I was nervous enough that I was getting thirsty. I tried to stay calm, but I also felt dumb for even coming. I should have known it would end up like this. I was starting to feel pretty miserable, when suddenly Brian was at my side.

“Hey, you actually came.” He hugged me as if we were old friends.

“Yeah, I’m here. Thanks for the invitation.”

“Not a problem, you can never have too many girls at a party. Lemonade?” he offered, holding out a red plastic cup.