Falling into Forever Page 9

  “I have to go,” she mumbled. “Sorry,” she said, taking a step backward as she put her hands inside her skirt pocket. A blue hair ribbon fell from her fingertips to the ground.

  “Where’d you get that necklace, girl?” the old man called out to her gruffly as Alexandra hiked up the stone wall.

  Grabbing her book bag from the ground on the other side, she sprinted back down the overgrown path toward campus. In the cemetery behind her, the old man picked up her hair ribbon and held it to his nose before he shoved it into his pocket with the cigarette butt.

  On the cemetery ridge behind the old man, the limbs of a magnolia swayed in the warm breeze. There was a figure watching from behind the wide tree. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. “You are bold, demon,” the figure said in a low, firm voice. “But you will not harm her,” he promised, closing his eyes.

  Lifting his nose to the breeze, the old man lingering by the wall dropped his rake to the ground and turned in the direction of the magnolia tree. As a beastly growl came from the old man’s throat, the figure behind the tree opened his eyes.

  “You can run, demon,” the figure warned, “but I will always know where you are.” Before him there stood a brown mongrel, a wild and hungry wolf that raced away toward the cemetery entrance and the city streets before he could approach.

  9

  Swoon

  Alexandra’s long legs did not stop racing until she reached Mrs. Simmons’s literature class. Geez, what else could happen today? she wondered anxiously as she collapsed into the safety of a wooden chair. Panting hard, she stared at a worn paperback copy of Dante’s Inferno, resting on top of the desk. Using her blazer sleeve, she dabbed at the sweat beading on her forehead. She sighed heavily, the feeling of the old man’s fingers still lingering on her skin.

  A few stragglers wandered into class behind her after the final bell. So Mrs. Simmons launched into a lecture on the consequences of tardiness. Alexandra ignored the warning. Casually, she picked up the book and flipped through its pages. She became engrossed in examining its black-and-white engravings of Hell. These pictures, she thought, remind me of the drawings in Uncle Joseph’s journal.

  When the bell rang at the end of the period, Alexandra breathed a sigh of relief. It’s finally time, she thought as she hurried to history class to meet the mysterious replacement for Mr. Frost: Dr. Sean Callahan.

  A crowd had gathered outside the classroom by the time she had arrived. She spotted Taylor and Benjamin standing together by the door.

  “What’s going on here?” Alexandra asked, tapping Taylor on the shoulder.

  “Check it out,” Benjamin grinned and pointed to a note taped to the closed door. “It’s locked,” he said, twisting the door handle.

  Alexandra read the new teacher’s scribbled words.

  Greetings, young scholars!

  I am eager to meet you all. But this room is not the proper setting for our introduction. I await you at the cannons. Hurry!

  S. Callahan

  “Seriously?” Taylor whined. “I’m not hiking all the way across campus again in these heels,” she said, lifting her foot in the air.

  Leaving Taylor, Alexandra and Benjamin followed the rest of their class down the hallway. “Wait up,” squealed Taylor as she peeled off her shoes and scampered behind them. Squeezing between them, she took Benjamin’s arm as they stepped outside.

  “I like this guy already,” Benjamin announced as they strolled through the quad. “Is he talking about those massive cannons by the flagpoles in front of the administration building? Is that where we’re going?”

  “No, we’re meeting him by the cannons inside the gym,” replied Taylor in jest. “Maybe tomorrow we will have to meet him in the cemetery behind campus. That would be the best day ever.”

  Benjamin overlooked her sarcasm. “Too bad the cannons don’t work anymore, right? That would bring a whole new meaning to expulsion,” he said, chuckling. “How long have the cannons been there?”

  Alexandra offered, “I heard they’ve been here since before Collinsworth was built. Way before, actually.”

  “Why doesn’t somebody just move them?” Benjamin asked.

  “I think it’s some kind of superstitious thing,” Alexandra said.

  “Cool,” Benjamin enthused, smiling at her. “Hey, Taylor, is there really a cemetery behind campus, like you said?”

  Taylor ignored his question. They joined the rest of their class already gathered outside Collinsworth’s main administration building. Dr. Callahan leaned casually against one of the cannons, waiting patiently for everyone to arrive.

  Alexandra noticed that the sky had grown considerably darker since lunch, and thunder rumbled in the far distance. The stirring wind tossed a strand of her auburn hair across her face.

  Fighting against the breeze to pull the hair from her eyes, she heard Taylor whisper in her ear: “What is going on with your birthmark?”

  “What do you mean?” asked Alexandra, touching the mark lightly with the tips of her chewed fingernails.

  “Nothing,” said Taylor, who was now straining for a closer look at Callahan. “I feel really bad about Mr. Frost being on leave and all, but this guy is seriously hot,” she pronounced approvingly to Alexandra. She slipped her high heels onto her feet.

  Dressed head to toe in black, his body stood tall and lean against the backdrop of the quad. A button-down shirt with a loosened collar lay underneath his blazer, and dense, black hair fell around his face to his chin. Blue eyes peered from his ruggedly handsome face.

  His eyes danced over the silent, staring faces of his class. His gaze eventually locked upon Alexandra. Noticing his stare, Taylor eased herself closer to her best friend until they stood shoulder to shoulder. A smile spread across his face before he turned his head. The back of Alexandra’s neck tingled.

  Placing his hands in his pockets, Callahan strolled with graceful urgency around his students. Alexandra tried to avoid his eyes. Glancing sideways at Taylor, she took a step backward only to stumble into one of her classmates. She struggled to keep her balance, and two hands reached out to grab her arms and steady her back onto her feet.

  “Sorry,” Alexandra mumbled to her rescuer. Turning to apologize, Alexandra’s eyes met two broad shoulders and trailed slowly up to Benjamin’s amused face. An urge to flee swept through her, but his arms gripped her firmly.

  “Are you okay, Alex?” he asked, with sincere concern in his blue eyes. “You’re a little pale all of a sudden.”

  “I’m fine,” she answered, but she thought perhaps the day had left her dehydrated. She remembered a water bottle in her book bag. Fumbling for it through her books and binders, she finally located it and sipped greedily.

  “I have been awaiting our introduction with much anticipation,” Dr. Callahan finally spoke. “Dr. Sullivan promised me that you’re among the best and the brightest here at Collinsworth. Please call me Callahan. Formality is not necessary.”

  A boy with wild, curly brown hair raised his hand as Callahan paused to clear his throat. “Why did you want us to meet you way out here?” the boy asked without waiting for Callahan to acknowledge him.

  Callahan considered the question. “Shortly before noon today, the air conditioning unit in my assigned classroom let out a sputtering death rattle and now waits in peace for its final journey to the nearest junkyard. To hold class outdoors seemed a logical solution, particularly with such props standing by.”

  He placed a hand on one of the cannons and patted it gently. “This one has a nickname, I believe. What do you call it?” Callahan read the faces of his students for a volunteer.

  “Bloody Mary,” the brown-haired boy answered.

  “Thank you, young man,” said Callahan. “Now does anyone else know the legend of what lies beneath Bloody Mary?”

  Raising her arm eagerly, Taylor bounced in place as if she stood on a trampoline to get Callahan’s attention.

  “Yes, the blond lady in the back,” Callahan
called to her. “You don’t have to jump up and down like that. I see you. What is it that you would like to share with the class?”

  “Everyone says there is buried treasure,” Taylor exclaimed. Because she was pleased to be the focus of Callahan’s attention, she continued, “And the bones of whoever buried it are down there, too.”

  Benjamin nudged Alexandra’s shoulder to get her attention and bent to whisper a question in her ear. “Bones? As in skeletons?”

  “That’s what they say,” she told him, nodding.

  “No way! Are you serious? What kind of treasure?” Benjamin noticed Callahan watching him and pulled his lips away from her ear.

  Callahan suddenly dropped to the ground and hovered there as if he were going to do push ups. He turned his ear to the ground, listening, as his arms held his body steady above the grass. Taylor swooned in awe before he sprang back to an upright position on his feet.

  “I do believe I can hear something,” Callahan declared. “Who would like to listen? Are there any volunteers?”

  Taylor bounded forward, while Benjamin and Alexandra each took a step backward away from the rest of their classmates. Even so, Callahan’s eyes locked on Alexandra again, and he motioned her forward to join him in front of the class.

  “Stay,” a voice demanded sharply in her ear. “He may be friend or foe, but that is not for you to decide.”

  “Excuse me?” Alexandra asked, turning to Benjamin.

  “Huh?” he shrugged, leaning closer to her, not understanding her question.

  Alexandra felt a pang in her chest and her heart fluttered. If Ben didn’t say it, then who did? Her eyes flickered over her classmates, looking for the source of the warning.

  Callahan persisted. “Please come forward, young lady.”

  Alexandra shook her head no. Benjamin placed his hand on the small of Alexandra’s back to urge her gently ahead. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Just do what he wants, or he won’t leave you alone.”

  She took one step forward toward Callahan, but before she could take another, her face slammed into what felt like an impenetrable wall, blocking her way. She hit that invisible wall and crumpled to the ground.

  “Alex!” Benjamin shouted.

  Taylor ran back and held her friend’s limp form, cradling Alexandra’s head in her lap. “Alex, what’s wrong? Wake up,” she asked frantically, but there was no response.

  “Get some help! Please, somebody,” Benjamin yelled.

  Rushing to her side, Callahan scooped Alexandra into his arms and swept her across the quad to the administration building. Taylor and Benjamin followed close on his heels. Callahan kicked open the door and strode swiftly down the hall to the nurse’s station.

  In his arms, Alexandra slipped in and out of consciousness. Her body felt overcome, drowned, swallowed by a river. She struggled against the current that was sweeping her down.

  Callahan laid her down gently on the exam table in Nurse Connie’s tiny exam room. Nurse Connie hastily rose from the table where she had been filing student vaccination records and snacking on soda crackers.

  Alexandra felt a grip tugging around her waist, pulling her to the surface. She expected that next she would see her father in his sailboat, dancing above the waves.

  “We were having class by the cannons,” Taylor explained to the nurse. She pointed at the open blinds of the office window that overlooked the grassy quad and its silent guns. “Then Callahan here said that he could hear voices coming from under the ground,” Taylor continued.

  Nurse Connie shot a surprised glance at Callahan. But he merely looked on, without saying anything.

  “He made Alexandra come to the front of the class to listen, too, and that’s when she collapsed.” Taylor breathed heavily when she finished.

  “Yeah,” Benjamin added, “she went down hard right next to me.”

  Resting on the table with her eyes closed, Alexandra could hear them speaking. She could not open her eyes just yet. Perhaps there would be an earthquake, so that she could fall through a crack in the earth, never to be seen again. Please, she thought.

  “Hand me a water bottle from that small refrigerator behind you,” Nurse Connie asked, looking at Benjamin.

  At that point, Alexandra heard another warning: “I am here. Stay calm now. I will not let anything hurt you.”

  “Who said that?” asked Alexandra, her eyes popping open at the sound of the voice in her head. “None of you heard that?” she asked, closing her eyes again. She was slowly regaining consciousness, much to everyone’s relief.

  “I know you all are concerned,” said Nurse Connie, “but I need you to step outside and give her some privacy. She just needs a few minutes to calm down.” Nurse Connie held the door open and shooed them outside into the hallway.

  Nurse Connie smiled at her pale patient and offered her a water bottle.

  “Drink this,” she insisted. “You’ve let yourself become dangerously dehydrated. And when was the last time you got some sleep?” she asked, looking at the dark circles under Alexandra’s eyes.

  Once outside, Callahan dismissed his students for the day before he sprinted back toward the administration building.

  “I’m sorry,” Alexandra said, as she poured the water down her throat.

  “I want you to wait here until the final dismissal bell. Finish that bottle of water and one more before you go anywhere.” She opened the refrigerator for another water bottle and placed it beside Alexandra on the exam table.

  Alexandra followed the instructions while the nurse continued her filing. The final bell of the day rang just as Alexandra finished the second bottle of water.

  Alexandra loosened her collar, and a knock pounded on the door.

  “She’s been in here long enough,” Taylor demanded. “Did you call 9-1-1 or what, lady?” Taylor swung open the door. Alexandra slid her wobbly legs from the exam table to the floor.

  “No. She’s only dehydrated. She’ll be fine,” Nurse Connie said.

  “I’ll walk you to your car,” Benjamin said, looking over Taylor’s shoulder. “Let me get that,” he said, grabbing Alexandra’s book bag from the floor. “I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.”

  Leaning against the wall in the hallway, Callahan waited for his students as they left Nurse Connie’s office.

  Looking into Alexandra’s eyes, he said, “There is no homework tonight, by the way.”

  “Thanks,” Benjamin smirked.

  “Get some rest tonight, Miss Peyton,” Callahan told her as she shuffled past him, clinging to Benjamin’s steady arm. “You’ll need your strength tomorrow,” he said, winking.

  “’Bye,” Taylor cooed at her new teacher. She waved as she followed her friends down the hallway and into the cloud-covered quad.

  In the student parking lot, Alexandra pointed Benjamin toward her old, battered Jeep parked next to Taylor’s shiny silver Mercedes. “That one,” she told Benjamin, cringing as the ripped and weathered soft top blew loosely in a gust of wind.

  “That’s a 1985 Jeep CJ-7,” Benjamin exclaimed, rubbing his fingers over the black bumper.

  “Um, yeah,” Alexandra agreed. “It used to be my dad’s.”

  “I like it, very retro,” he said, seeing her blush. “We could take it camping sometime.” He handed her bag over.

  “Uh, sure,” she said, fumbling for her keys inside her book bag.

  “Alex, are you okay to drive? Can I give you a ride, Ben?” asked Taylor, unlocking the door of her shiny Mercedes. Easing down into the black leather seat, Taylor revved the engine and found the button to retract the convertible roof.

  “I’m good to go,” promised Alexandra.

  “I don’t need a ride, thanks,” said Benjamin. “My driver is waiting for me.” He gallantly held Alexandra’s door open for her.

  “Fine,” Taylor said flatly. Punching the accelerator, she squealed backward out of her parking space.

  Turning the key in the ignition, Alexandra breathed a sigh of re
lief and took off her blazer. “Thanks, Ben,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She looked up at him as he leaned on her window. She pulled her seatbelt around her chest.

  “I like your necklace,” he said, seeing her pendant.

  Glancing at her neck in the rearview mirror, Alexandra smiled. “It was a gift,” she said. She waved goodbye through her open window and backed out of her parking space.

  10

  Daydream

  Slipping her key from the door lock, Alexandra stretched her tired legs over the threshold and kicked the door closed behind her. She dropped her book bag to the floor, turned the deadbolt, and peeked through the peephole at the empty hallway outside her apartment. Jack came up and nuzzled his cold nose against the back of her knees.

  “Hi, boy. I missed you,” she said, kneeling to rub his back.

  The house phone startled her. “What now?” she asked Jack as she walked to the landline on the table by the sofa. She glanced at the caller ID on the screen.

  “Hi, Mom,” Alexandra answered, slumping down into the leather sofa cushions with the receiver to her ear. “Calling to check how my first day went?” she asked, kicking off her shoes.

  Relieved for her to be home, Jack climbed up onto the cushion beside her and stretched his back across the sofa so that she could scratch his pink-and-white belly.

  “Alex! Thank goodness you’re home. The school nurse called and said you fainted during class.” Her mother’s voice sounded concerned, but not yet panicked.

  Exhausted, Alexandra laid herself across the sofa and yawned widely along with Jack as he snuggled close to her chest.

  “I’m okay now, Mom. I think I just got overheated and I’m so tired. The nurse said I was dehydrated. I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

  “What am I going to do with you? You need to learn to start taking better care of yourself. I worry thinking that you’ll be away at college next year.”

  “You’re one to talk about taking care, Mom. The walls wouldn’t crumble if you left work a little early sometimes.” Alexandra didn’t often mention this, because she knew that her mother’s workaholic schedule had in part caused the separation with her dad. Her mom threw herself into long hours at work, hoping to become a lead investigator at the Centers for Disease Control.