G-157 (16 page)

The bell signaling the end of class made her jump. She shut her notebook, and recapped her pen, thankful to get to her next class and away from Gary.  Troy’s shoes appeared in her line of vision as she leaned down to cram her notebook into her bag.

“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up tonight? I’ve still got a few credits left over from last week’s allowance.”

“Um, not tonight,” she said as she forced a smile. The dream
of his mad, brutal eyes
came flooding back to her with such vehemence she had to look away from him.

“Oh, okay then”

“How about Friday?”

“Sounds great. Pick you up at seven?”

“Perfect.”

He smiled again. “I can’t wait.”

“Me either,” Aire said, the lie tasting thick and bitter on her tongue.

***

The sun peeped into the windows of the stone building, glancing at the young girl in fervent concentration pouring over the pages of universities and scribbling frantic notes as a medium listening to an agitated spirit. She’d needed something to get her mind off Gary and Troy and the African, and had returned to the library in hopes that renewing her quest to get into a university in the States would lift her spirits and help her get some sleep. In the
archaic
reference section she’d found a
n
old
book on Ivy League universities. Histories, geographic locations, architectural structures, and brief mentions of admission guidelines were all contained
within
. She tugged at her hair in frustration over the new barrier she’d found in her quest for college.

The schools she’d found in these pages were elite. They required outstanding grades, afterschool activities, charity work
,
and accelerated classes, all of which Aire could proudly
put on her resume. However, they also wanted something called an SAT score. Never in her life had she heard of such a thing, and if she’d never heard of it, she was certain no one else had either.

She crossed her arms on the desk and rested her head on them. There were so many roadblocks, so many strange events and unanswered questions she could feel herself coming to a breaking point over the stress of it all. Her shoulders were on the verge of shaking when the librarian laid a gentle hand upon them.

“Almost finished up?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said, attempting to regain her composure by tidying up her area. Ms. Stillwell, a tiny middle aged woman in a blue sun dress, began helping her
load up
the books
she’d taken out to return them to their places on the shelves
.

“Are you doing a history project on American universities?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Then why all the research?”

“I’d like to go to college. I’ll be graduating next year and want to make sure I can get into a university as soon as possible.”

“Why? There is no use for such a thing here.”

“It’s just something I need to do. I don’t think I would be happy spending the rest of my life in John’s Town, and college is my best way to get out of here.”

Ms. Stillwell paused, a look of horror contorting her face. “Why on earth would you want to do a thing like that?”

“There’s so much adventure out there. I’d like to be able to make a real difference to all the people in the world, not just those in the town limits.”

“Hmm,” Ms. Stillwell said as she pursed her lips. Together they walked in silence to the towering bookcases and began to replace the texts Aire had taken out. “Well, I don’t agree with you, but I wish you the best of luck all the same.”

“Thank you.”

They’d finished putting the books back, and Ms. Stillwell accompanied Aire to the library’s exit as it was already t
en
minutes past closing time. Aire turned to the librarian just before reaching the door.

“Ms. Stillwell, do you know what an SAT is?”

“An SAT
?
” she asked. “What does it pertain to?”

“It’s a test colleges require for admission. I’ve no idea how to go about taking it.”

“Hmm,” she bit her lip. “Maybe ask Dr. Caughlin?”

Aire shook her head. “No, he doesn’t remember anything before he came here.”

“Well, let me see, let me see.” The tiny woman tapped her chin, her delicate eyebrows pinched together in thought. “Try asking the mayor. He’s a very smart man who usually knows about such matters.”

“That’s a good idea, thank you, ma’am.”

“You’re welcome.
Be sure to ask for an appointment with his secretary first, though. He’s been out of the office a lot lately running errands around town.”

“Will do.”

“Now h
urry up now and get home.  You’re late for dinner.”

Aire glanced at her watch, a touch of panic tightening her chest when she realized she was
going to be a
half an hour late.

“Crud. Have a good night Ms. Stillwell, and thanks again for the suggestion,” she called over her should
er
as she sprinted down Bourbon Street.

Chapter Nineteen

Thursday April 8, 2010

Population: 390

Feet tapping, fingers drumming, Aire wiggled in her chair and willed the clock to hurry to the end of the hour. She vaguely heard her chemistry teacher droning on about ions as she rehearsed her speech to the mayor over and over in her head.
Good afternoon
, M
ayor Jenkins. The reason for my visit today is that I desire to go to college, and upon academic research of the admissions process-.

“Aire, what’s the molar mass of potassium needed to balance the equation?”

Flames danced on her cheeks as
she
looked to her chemistry teacher with wide eyes. “Sorry, what was the question?”

The teacher glared and raised her nose high in the air. “Anyone else?”

Her head fell in embarrassment. She was going to attempt to take the most important test of her life and she couldn’t answer a simple chemistry question. She sank in her
chair and looked around at her silent classmates. Each sat
motionless
, their
eye
s preening over their notes. She could almost hear the silent prayer that each muttered in their minds,
please don’t call on me
. In her scan of the room there sat only one inconsistency, and the movement had been so slight she almost missed it.

Two rows to her left sat Bowie Sandoval. His head was bent over like the others with pen in hand ready to write. It was his eyes that gave him away. They did not move but instead were frozen straight down as though painted onto his sculpted face. His pen gave a slight twitch as his jaw clenched and relaxed almost instantly. His body straightened and froze for a brief second before he raised his hand.

“Eight,” he said, his posture once again that of a normal, attentive student.

“Correct,” their chemistry teacher smiled.

Now Aire
sat the frozen pupil as she stared at Bowie.
Just like Gary
, her mind whispered,
he moved just like Gary
. But Bowie had no concussion, no bruises on his cheeks or broken ribs, so why did he spasm like Gary?

Coincidence,
her mind whispered back. The body was a strange biomechanical mystery. Perhaps Bowie was just tired and his body jerked to wake him up, just as she sometimes gave a hypnic jerk at night after falling asleep too fast. And of course, maybe she hadn’t seen anything at all. It happened so
fast
that maybe she had been hallucinating, her mind playing tricks on her with her obsession over Gary’s strange behavior.

The end of the day bell came whomping through the ro
om, triggering her classmates to animation
again. Aire put her books into her bag and pushed the thought of Bowie into the back of her mind as she secured the backpack’s zipper. She couldn’t think about him or Gary or anyone else right now. Other matters called her attention, and she would need complete focus to accomplish them.

***

The
hands of the
clock ticked
in a lazy circle around its face on the wall of
the City Hall main lobby. Mayor Jenkins had agreed to see her, but she’d have to wait until he finished his other business first. Aire would wait a year if that’s what it took for her to get into college.

Forty-five minutes had gone by. Her mind had grown bored examining the intricately tiled floor and renaissance art that hung from the brown sponged walls, grown bored of naming the various plants and styles of vases that decorated the lobby and main hall of the building. She’d counted twenty three bobby pins in the bleached hair of the secretary, whom she’d recognized as one of the seniors who had graduated at the end of her freshman year. For a brief moment an ooze of horror seeped from her skin at the thought of having the same mindless job behind a desk
for the rest of her life
. Her mind played out the image of what her life would be like if she couldn’t escape John’s Town
in trite, flashing scenes
; she’d graduate next year, become the town doctor, get married to Troy and have one kid in a four bedroom house with a white picket fence. She’d have only The Moto to look forward to each year as her hair turned grey and her skin wrinkled until she finally died of old age. She imag
in
ed saying something melodramatic with her last breath, something like,
what wasted light, for the unknown is forever behind
. Aire turned her head away from the girl and her mind away from the thought.

She began to wonder about
what
life
would be like
in John’s Town after her dream was realized and she was studying at a university. Her mother would miss her. Dad would too. Poor Mitch would be all alone with no big sister to guide him through high school. How would Melissa react? Friendships formed in childhood were never broken in adult
life for those who lived in John’s Town
since n
o one ever moved away. They were only ended when one was either taken by the hospital or recruited by the Army, and no one was sad for it. Would her departure be the same, an eventless happening with no effect on others? No, Melissa would be sad if she left.
When she left
, she corrected herself. Aire frowned at the tide pool of guilt beginning to swell within. Melissa had been her best friend more than half her life, and now she was trying to abandon her. And what about Troy? The thought of leaving him made her heart clench even after the rage she’d seen in his eyes in the terrible nightmare. Would he come with her? She opened her eyes wider to dam up the tears before they burst forth as she fought against the answer she already knew. Troy would not come. No one from John’s Town would ever set out to explore the world with her.