Death, Doom, and Detention

THE SOUTHERN BELLE

Brooke piled her plate high with salad for lunch while I went for a more modest version, and Glitch and

Cameron went for pizza. Shocker.

“You suck,” Cameron said to Glitch as he swiped at his pants. He sat next to Brooke with a scowl lining his face.

“No more than you,” Glitch said.

“What did you do?” Brooke let the suspicion in her expression filter into her voice. We knew Glitch too well.

“He spilled his water on me.”

Glitch chuckled. “Think you’ll survive?”

Clicking her tongue in disappointment, Brooke looked at me. “Boys are impossible.” She looked around. “Oh, the school paper’s out. I’m going to get us one.”

Everyone around us was reading the school newspaper, or at least looking at the pictures. While

Brooke went to get us each a copy, I munched on crunchy green stuff with dressing. It was really the dressing I was after. Bacon ranch. Pretty much anything with bacon in it would earn the Lorelei McAlister seal of approval.

“Thanks,” I said when Brooke handed me a paper.

She passed one to Glitch, then asked me, “Okay, what do you think?”

“About the newsletter?”

“No. That’s just a ploy to make us look normal.” She held one up to Cameron, breaking his eye contact with Glitch. Cameron snatched it out of her hands and leaned back to glare at the paper instead of at the crazy boy who thought he could take Cameron on and live to see another day.

“Oh.” I nodded. “Good idea.”

“The Southerns,” she said. “What do you think?”

I picked up my paper as well, going for nonchalance. Like a spy might. “I think we need to check out their story,” I said, casting suspicious glances all about me. Like a spy might. “Have you noticed any strange behavior? I mean, stranger than usual?”

Brooke opened her newsletter and spoke from behind it. “Isn’t that what we’ve been talking about?”

“That’s true,” I said.

“We’ll just have to keep a close eye on things. Cameron and Jared said that they’d been sensing something for the last few days. Maybe Isaac saw something at the party.”

“Exactly.” I spared a glance over the top of my paper. “Something otherworldly. And suddenly that new guy shows up who’s really tall.”

She looked over hers as well. “Do you think they’re connected?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Tall guys and odd things are often connected here.”

Glitch finished up his pizza, then picked up his paper as well. Speaking from behind it, he said, “You guys look ridiculous. I was going to speak up sooner, but then what would I have to tell my grandchildren?”

He was right. We put our papers down, but I kept up the suspicious glances. They were fun. And I was hoping beyond hope that Jared would just happen to walk in.

Cameron was busy watching us from over his paper, his brows knitting like he was worried about us.

“Can you even read?” Glitch asked him.

Glitch had apparently become suicidal a while back, taking up the dangerous habit of taunting

Cameron. He had to be suicidal to do such a stupid thing. There had been a tension between the boys ever since that Boy Scouts camping trip they went on together in the second grade. We just hadn’t known about the tension between them until a few weeks ago.

When Glitch got back from that trip, he was different. I couldn’t imagine what had happened on the camping trip that would cause Glitch to become clinically depressed in the second grade, but that was exactly what happened. I’d tried numerous times to find out, to try to get him to open up, but he refused to talk about it.

I’d only recently found out Cameron had anything to do with it, that he was on the camping trip as well.

But Glitch knew how strong Cameron was, how indestructible. I could tell he was afraid of Cameron.

Who could blame him? But lately he’d taken up the pastime of goading him, egging him on, practically begging him to start a fight. A fight he would be lucky to survive, though he’d probably be in a vegetative state the rest of his life.

And it was all about a girl.

I sighed in wonder. Glitch had feelings for Brooklyn, another fact I’d only recently discovered. I’d had no idea how he felt about her, that he had feelings for her at all other than friendship, until Cameron started paying attention to her. Now, it was all we could do to keep Glitch under control. Cameron could kill him with his pinkie, and he knew that better than anyone.

Brooke kneed me under the table and nodded toward Cameron. He’d stilled. He was looking past me, and when I turned, I realized he was staring at the new guy. He seemed to have made some friends. He was sitting at a table with some of the jocks, but they weren’t laughing or joking or even talking. They were just sitting there. All broody like.

Then the new guy’s gaze slid over to us and landed right on Cameron. The look on his face was one of glib amusement.

“What is going on with him, Cameron?” I asked.

But he didn’t answer. He just stared, his gaze calculating.

“He looks like a Neanderthal,” Glitch said. Then he turned back to Cameron. “You guys have to be related.”

Before anyone realized what he was going to do, Cameron grabbed Glitch by the front of his jacket and pulled him to his feet with one hand. Or, well, about six inches above his feet.

Glitch tried to fight him, but Cameron was nephilim. Which meant really tall. Really strong. And really fast.

“What do you know about it Glitch?” he said, the contempt in his voice evident in every syllable. “Did you learn nothing on that camping trip?”

“Cameron,” I said, my voice a harsh whisper, trying not to draw any attention from the teachers on duty. “Put him down this instant.”

Brooklyn took a hold of one of Cameron’s arms and was trying to pull him off Glitch. She would have had more luck trying to punch a hole in a cinder block wall with her fist.

Unfortunately, the only person in Riley’s Switch who stood a chance against Cameron was not there, and Glitch’s dark, coppery skin was turning a disturbing shade of red.

“Cameron!” I repeated a little louder.

“Excuse me.”

We all turned and saw Ashlee Southern standing there, tray in hand, a shy reverence sparkling in her eyes.

“May I join you?”

Glitch was making these awful choking sounds that didn’t so much stop when Cameron dropped him as become more guttural. Cameron didn’t give him another thought as he turned to us, his brows raised as though asking us if Ashlee could join us. As though he hadn’t been choking one of our best friends nigh to death.

I was the first to gather my wits. “Of course, Ashlee. Sit down.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important,” she said as she put her tray next to Glitch’s.

I couldn’t help but notice the sympathetic glances she kept casting his way. Maybe she was worried about him, which was only natural. His wheezing did seem to be growing louder. Brooke placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shoved it away. It was so unlike him.

She gasped, taken aback, but decided to turn her wrath on Cameron. “What the heck was that about?”

she asked him.

Cameron continued to direct his scowl at Glitch. “It was about the fact that Blue-Spider doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

Cameron remembered Glitch’s real name only as a barb.

Glitch scoffed. “Why would anything I have to say bother you?” he asked, his voice hoarse. He looked over at the new guy, who was taking a singular interest in what was going on at our table. “Unless there’s something about this guy you aren’t telling us.”

Cameron seemed to calm then. “Just keep him away from Lor.”

“Then there is something you’re not telling us,” Brooke said, her eyes round with apprehension. “What is it?”

He settled back in his chair and clenched his teeth in frustration. “I told you before. He’s fuzzy around the edges.” Then he glanced at Ashlee, and I could tell he wasn’t sure what he could say in front of her.

“It’s okay,” Brooke said, “she’s trying to help us figure out what’s going on.”

After a moment, he gave in and said, “I’ve been sensing all kinds of abnormal activity for days. Stuff I couldn’t put my finger on. But the minute Neanderthal gets here, it stops. Everything stops and there’s just this low hum of energy, like when you hear the bass of a stereo before you can see the car. Something is coming, and I don’t know what.”

“So,” Brooke said, “he’s not a warlock?”

“A what?” When she took another bite of her salad, he asked, “Where did you get that idea?”

“It was just a thought.”

Cameron frowned at her. He was worried. He hadn’t touched his pizza. Something that never happened.

“Have you sensed Jared yet?” I asked him for the thousandth time.

He pushed his pizza aside and shook his head.

After we sat in silence for a good thirty seconds, Ashlee took an apprehensive bite of her sandwich.

“How does it work?” she asked after swallowing. “Your visions. How do you do it?”

Glitch looked at her in surprise. I’d have to fill him in later.

It felt weird talking about it with someone other than my family and friends. I wasn’t sure how much to tell her, but she’d kept our secret for weeks. Sure, for nefarious reasons, saving it up for extortion and all, but clearly she could keep a secret.

Once I made sure Glitch was breathing okay, I said, “Sometimes I can touch someone and see something from their past or future, but only if there is something to be seen. It doesn’t always work.” I stabbed a carrot slice. “And sometimes it works too well.”

She frowned. “What do you mean by something to be seen?”

I sat back in my chair. “Well, I don’t get a vision every time I touch someone, thank God. If there is something important that needs to be seen, I can see it, but not always. It either happens or it doesn’t. I can’t really explain it beyond that.”

After regarding us with uncertainty she asked, “What about with Isaac? Will you be able to see what’s going on?”

“I won’t know until I try. I hope so.” I really did. If Isaac saw something or had inside info into what was going on in Riley’s Switch—or more important, with Jared—I wanted to know.

“I hope so too,” she said.

Brooke leaned into me. “Lor, are you sure? From what you told me, this could be dangerous.”

“It’s worth the risk to my mental well-being. If he knows anything that could help us—”

“I understand. Just make sure I’m around when you try it, okay?”

I’d started to ask her why, when I heard someone off to the side.

“Smile for the camera.”

I blinked and looked around, but as my gaze panned to the right, the cafeteria dissolved and in its place, trees formed and playground equipment for small children materialized before my eyes. I was in a vision, but I wasn’t touching anyone. And no one I’d touched recently was in it. I looked around and saw a junior—Melanie, I think, was her name—snapping pictures of a group of kids. They were young, probably kindergarteners, with a few high school kids scattered throughout, and they were posing on the playground equipment while holding a banner. It had dozens of tiny handprints with the words THANK YOU written in bright red letters.

The images swam by me, like we were underwater, not crystal clear, but not really blurry either. The sounds were only slightly lower than would be natural. The light only slightly brighter.

“Say yes to literacy!” Melanie said, and all the kids shouted her sentiment as she clicked several pictures in a row. On the last one, just as the banner slipped from one girl’s hand, a bright light flashed in my eyes. I blinked again to refocus and saw four people sitting around me, talking. I was back at the lunch table, and Brooklyn was arguing with Cameron about appropriate lunchroom behavior.

Ashlee was staring at me with a curious glint in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Did you see that?” I asked her.

Brooklyn stopped talking immediately. “What?” She glanced around, then asked, “Did you have a vision?”

“Yes, kind of. But, it was strange.”

She edged closer, as did everyone.

“It was Melanie something-or-other, that junior in Yearbook. She was snapping pictures of little kids on playground equipment.”

“Oh, wait a minute,” Glitch said, his voice breathy. “I’m getting a vision, too.” He held one hand high and pressed the fingertips of the other to his forehead. “Were they holding a banner that said ‘thank you’?”

My eyes widened. “Yes, they were.”

Brooke crossed her arms and leaned back in disappointment.

“I’m psychic! I knew it!” Glitch said.

Ash smiled dutifully.

“Very funny, Lor,” Brooke said, scowling. “I was really worried. If we’re going to save the world, you have to take your responsibilities—and your mental state—seriously.”

At that point, to say I was confused would have been an understatement. “What are you talking about?”

Cameron tapped on the table, and I realized he wasn’t grinning like the rest, but gazing at me with a deep curiosity. I looked down at what he was pointing at. The newsletter Brooke handed me was lying underneath my elbow. The exact picture Melanie shot in my vision, the one snapped just as the banner slipped from that girl’s hand, was featured on the front page in an article about literacy. The bundled kindergartners were waving and laughing. The high school students were smiling, each of them holding a different kid. The banner was draped across the front, only the picture was black-and-white, while my vision had been broadcast in glaring Technicolor.

“You’re going to save the world?” Ashlee asked.

I clenched my teeth and frowned at Brooke, before saying, “No. Not really. Not the world, so much.

More like … the … coffee shop.”

“Yeah,” Brooke said, joining in. “The coffee shop. It’s in trouble. Financially. With money.”

Ashlee laughed softly. “You guys really are the worst liars.” She was so lovely, with dark, shoulder-

length hair and big brown eyes. I wanted brown eyes. All the cool kids had brown eyes.

Just as I was going to defend my mad skill at lying, the creature whose name shall not be spoken aloud waltzed toward us like she owned the joint. She had blue eyes.

She stopped at our table, unfortunately, and glanced around, probably looking for Jared. When she didn’t find him, she turned her attention elsewhere. It would seem our friendship had been fleeting, like two ships passing in the night. Or two planes passing during peak hours, almost colliding in midair, and killing dozens of innocent people.

“Ash,” she said, flipping a blond strand over her shoulder, “what are you doing?”

I cringed at the abrasive sound of her voice and tried not to seize. It had some kind of paralyzing superpower.

“What do you mean?” Ash asked her.

Tabitha scoffed. “This is not our table.”

“I didn’t know we’d bought real estate.” Ash indicated the room with a wave. “I just figured I could sit anywhere. Crazy, right?”

“Oh … my gawd. Whatever.” Then she focused on me, and her expression changed to one of sympathy.

“That’s so sad about your clothes,” she said, her face a picture of faux pity.

Brooke jumped to my defense. “And that’s so sad about your face.” She was almost getting better with the comebacks.

Tabitha snorted and turned to Amber, her comrade-in-arms. “Wow, I’ve been put in my place.”

“And good,” Amber said, agreeing.

Ashlee leaned forward, wearing the same sweet smile she’d offered Glitch. “What’s really sad is when girls old enough to know better wear pink and orange together.”

Tabitha’s breath caught. She looked down at her pink outfit then at her orange bracelet.

“You know,” Ashlee continued, “like a third-grader might.”

A scarlet tinge infused Tabitha’s pale skin, and her mouth thinned as she forced it into the shape of a smile. “I guess it is. I’ll see you at practice.”

“See you there!” Ash said with a huge grin.

“Wow,” Brooke said. “You’re my new hero.”

Ash smiled again, bashfully. “You just have to know how to handle her. The faster you shut her up, the better it is for everyone involved.”