Falling into Forever (18 page)

Unfortunately, when her son finally arrived home, he was in a wooden box with a ragged Confederate flag laid across the top. The people who had come to greet him saw her tremendous grief. Even as Charles pronounced the need for his quick burial, the crowd could see plumes of smoke on the horizon, followed by the pounding of cannon fire.

They knew that Atlanta and the Collinsworth estate could possibly be attacked before dawn.

“So distraught was Mary by the sight of her son's body that she ran into the woods screaming words no one could understand. They held a brief service for the young soldier, without Mary, in Drake Hall. The casket was taken to the cemetery behind the church, and he was laid to rest as the sun set and as the fires of war drew closer.

“In case of an attack, Charles and his sons guarded the property throughout the night. As midnight passed, Charles was riding his horse through the cemetery and saw a torchlight hovering above the fresh grave. In the light, he saw the fragile Mary, trying frantically to dig up the coffin. Listening closely, he heard her whisper incantations. He came down from his horse and ran up to Mary to stop her, but she pulled a hidden blade from her cloak and stabbed him.

“Hearing their father's cries, his sons rode up on the scene and found their dying father on top of the grave of Mary's son. But the woman was nowhere to be seen.

To honor his dying request, the next morning the family buried Charles in front of the center cannon, along with the dagger that killed him. In his grave, they placed bags of gold coins, the family's treasure, to keep it from being taken by the Yankees.”

Callahan stood up from the stool and flipped the overhead lights back on at the switch by the door. Placing his hands in his pants pockets, he paced around the quiet circle of students.

“So be wary strolling campus after dark, ladies and gentlemen. Unexplained sightings of misty figures crop up now and again, I've been told.”

Callahan paused in front of Jeff Franklin and reached for the textbook on the boy's desk.

“May I?” he asked, as Jeff pushed the book closer to Callahan's fingers. “Let's see now . . . Chapter one: the fall of the Roman Empire. Now we're talking,” Callahan's voice said giddily as he placed the open textbook back on Jeff's desk. “Just so you all know,” he added, “I am considering a quiz on Friday.”

Disgusted sighs echoed around the room.

Rubbing her eyes as they adjusted back to the bright light, Alexandra heard Jeff's voice from across the room.

“So what happened to Mary?” he asked Callahan.

Callahan looked him in the eye. “I'm not sure, Mr.

Franklin,” he said. “I read that there have been so-called sightings over the years, but no one knows for sure what happened to the woman. She escaped into the night; and despite great efforts by the Collinsworth family to track her down, she has never been found, dead or alive.”

Taylor raised her hand and coughed to draw Callahan's attention. “Yes, Miss Woodward? Do you have something to add?”

“Alexandra saw something in the cemetery yesterday,”

Taylor said.

“You did?” Benjamin whispered to Alexandra.

“Really?” asked Callahan. “What did you see, Miss Peyton?”

“I, um, well, I don't know what I saw,” Alexandra said, nudging Taylor's leg under the desk. “Thanks, Taylor,”

she mumbled.

“But you saw something?” Callahan asked.

“Maybe,” Alexandra stammered, her cheeks blazing.

“I thought that the cemetery was off-limits to students,”

Callahan said, persisting in his interrogation.

Alexandra gulped and bit her thumbnail while the class stared at her.
Stop talking to me
, she thought. There was stunned silence in the classroom.

Outside in the hallway, a piercing buzz broke the hush.

“Fire alarm!” a ponytailed girl with glasses shouted from across the room before she jumped up from her seat.

14
Dragon Tales

“Do not panic, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sure this is only a start-of-the-year drill,” Callahan reminded his students as he dashed across the classroom.

He felt the door for heat. Finding it cold, he threw it open just as two boys ran by. They were headed to the exits at the end of the hallway.

“What is going on?” Callahan demanded when they passed.

“The chemistry lab exploded!” one of the boys yelled.

A faint whiff of smoke wafted into the room through the open door.

Callahan turned back to the room to face his students.

“Okay,” he said, “Let's have an orderly exit.” They grabbed their bags and rushed through the doorway. Struggling to raise his voice above the wailing fire alarm, Callahan said, “Don't forget to read chapter one. There will be a quiz on Friday even if the building burns to the ground.”

Reaching behind her for her crutches leaning against the back of the chair, Taylor struggled to stand up.

“Let me get those,” Alexandra told her as the crutches fell to the floor.

“You look like crap,” Taylor said casually.

You're welcome
, Alexandra thought, handing Taylor the crutches and shoving her heavy textbook into her book bag.

“I'll get the bag,” Benjamin said to Alexandra and held

out his hand. “You can help Taylor get outside,” he said, nodding his chin at Taylor.

An intentionally helpless pout had spread across Taylor's face as she bent over her metal crutches.

She only ran into a deer. Whereas I was attacked by probably a
werewolf!
Alexandra thought, seeing Taylor's helplessness.

Noticing them trying to maneuver their way out, Callahan approached them.

“So here we are again, the four of us. I am beginning to wonder if I should expect some sort of daily disturbance from the three of you,” Callahan said.

“We'll do what we can to make it exciting for you around here,” Taylor boasted as she slowly hobbled toward the door. “Come on, Alex! And Ben, I need to talk to you about getting a ride home.”

“He'll be with you in a minute, Miss Woodward. I must speak with the young man outside first, and then he is all yours.”

A sulfurous stench filled the hallway as they all burst gratefully through the exit doors and into the airy quad outside Sumter Hall.

Hobbling slowly to a nearby bench, Taylor threw down her crutches and slumped to the seat. The wailing fire alarm continued to ring from inside the building. Curious students lingered in the quad. In the distance, a fire truck siren howled.

“I wonder what that's about,” Alexandra muttered to Taylor.

“Beats me,” Taylor shrugged. “Are you jealous or something?”

Meanwhile, Callahan had steered Benjamin to a bench on the other side of the lawn. “Do not worry, Mr. Lawson,”

he said. “I will only keep you a moment.” Callahan placed

his hand on Benjamin's shoulder. “I would like to ask your girlfriend about the necklace . . . where she obtained it,” he explained, twisting his ring around his finger.

“My girlfriend?” Benjamin stared at him, confused.

“Alexandra,” said Callahan.

Benjamin shook his head. “She's not my girlfriend.”

“I'm sorry,” said Callahan. “The way you looked at each other, I . . .” He paused. “No matter,” he continued.

“For some reason, your friends seem a bit wary of me, but I do need to know about the necklace. It's quite rare,”

explained Callahan, patting Benjamin on the back.

From where Alexandra and Taylor were sitting, they could see students continue to pour from Sumter Hall.

Alexandra also kept an eye on Callahan and Benjamin across the lawn.
What are they talking about over there?

“Did you get in a fight?” Taylor asked, but Alexandra wasn't listening.

“Hello? Alexandra, I asked you a question,” Taylor said loudly.

“Sorry!” Alexandra exclaimed. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you got in a fight,” Taylor repeated.

“No, I fell,” Alexandra said, looking down at the scratches on her legs. “You know how clumsy I can be sometimes.”

“Yeah, I know,” Taylor answered, stretching her leg and pointing to a message written in blue marker on her cast. “Look. Mike Rivers already signed me.”

Get well soon, babe. Go Raiders! - Mike

“That's great, Taylor. I think he's always had a crush on you,” Alexandra said. “Maybe you should trying going out with him again sometime instead of . . .” she stopped short when Taylor scowled at her.

“Did Ben say something to you about me?” Taylor demanded, a pout returning to her face.

Turning her back on her gawking of Callahan and Benjamin, Alexandra put her hands on her hips and looked her friend square in the eye. “Have you lost your mind, Taylor? If you hadn't been stalking Ben in the middle of the night, then you wouldn't have gotten in an accident.

Or is that part of the plan, so he'll feel sorry for you?”

“What do you care? I thought you didn't like him.

And I am not stalking him. We just happen to live near each other, so get over it.” A smile broadened across her face when she saw Benjamin approaching from behind Alexandra.

Startled by a tap on her shoulder, Alexandra fell forward toward Taylor, but Benjamin's hands steadied her before she landed in her friend's lap. “What's up ladies?” he asked and handed Alexandra's book bag to her.

“What did Callahan want?” Taylor asked. “No secrets allowed.” She giggled lightly and patted the bench for him to join her.

Benjamin ignored the invitation. “Callahan wanted me to ask Alexandra something because he thinks she doesn't like him.”

“So what is it?” Taylor asked, curious.

“He is madly in love with Alexandra and wants to run away to South America so they can live happily ever after together,” Benjamin joked. Alexandra blushed.

Giggling, Taylor said, “Whatever. That's ridiculous.”

“He wants to know where Alexandra got that necklace,”

Benjamin confessed.

“What does he care?” said Alexandra as her fingers tightened around the medallion.

“I don't know, Alex. It doesn't seem a like a big deal.

He just said that it was rare and that he had never seen

anyone else wearing a symbol like that before.” He patted her on the back. “He's not so bad, you know. Give him a chance. He seems pretty cool for a teacher.”

Light billows of smoke reached the bench from the building “Why are we still waiting here?” Taylor asked, coughing. She grabbed her crutches. “Ben, do you think I could get a ride home with you?”

“How did you get here, anyway?” Alexandra grumbled.

“My dad dropped me off earlier. But he can't pick me up until after he sees his last Botox patient. In that case, I'd have to wait around here for hours,” she pleaded with Benjamin. “Unless you think your girlfriend in California would mind.”

“My mom must get an appointment with your dad, then,” Benjamin said, laughing. “Her forehead hasn't moved in ten years.”

Alexandra braved a stab at Taylor's ego. “If you hang around until football practice is over,” Alexandra suggested to Taylor, “I'm sure Mike wouldn't mind driving you home. Just because you got kicked off the cheerleading squad didn't mean you two had to break up, you know?”

“What did you do to get kicked off the squad, Taylor?”

Benjamin joked. “Forget to bring your pom-poms to homecoming?”

“No, she had a party for the girls at her house and . . .”

Alexandra started to describe the episode to Benjamin, but Taylor interrupted.

“Yeah, I'm sure Mike would get me home safely, but I don't feel like waiting around for him, either. I'm really tired. This cast weighs a ton.” Taylor struggled to stand with her new crutches and flopped back down on the bench. “Ouch,” she complained. “These wretched things

are so not going to work for me. Maybe I could talk Mike into carrying me around for the next month.”

“It's no problem to give you a ride, Taylor. But you'll have to sit up front with my driver Duncan to give him the directions,” Benjamin sighed as he helped her from the bench.

“Thanks, Ben. I owe you bunches,” Taylor cooed at him.

“See you tomorrow, Alex. Maybe you can catch me up on your South American wedding plans in homeroom,”

she said, turning her back just as Alexandra stuck out her tongue.

“'Bye, Alex,” Ben said, his brow furrowed. Alexandra waved goodbye and watched them start to walk away. But while sulking alone on the wooden bench, an unfamiliar feeling—a pang of jealousy—ripped at her heart.

We never fight about boys,
she told herself.

Taylor sighed loudly as Benjamin turned back toward the bench.

Alexandra stammered awkwardly. “Ben, I need to . . .

um . . .”

“You want me first to walk you to the parking lot?”

Alexandra wrested the words from her mouth. “I'm not scared—not of some stupid dog.”

“I know,” he said grinning. “You're amazing. So tell me what's wrong.”

“Nothing,” she said, her eyes lingering on Taylor.

Stepping closer, Benjamin leaned into her ear and whispered. “I feel sorry for her, okay? She's got serious issues. Maybe I'll take her home to meet my mom. They've got a lot in common. Maybe having a better role model than her stepmother will keep her out of trouble.”

“Are we leaving, or what?” Taylor whined loudly, her patience dissolving.

Standing on her tiptoes, Alexandra whispered into

his ear. “I'll be okay. You're right about Taylor. She needs more attention right now than I do.”

Pushing him away, Alexandra said to both of them, “I'll see you guys tomorrow. I wonder what could possibly happen around here next.” The fake smile she forced across her face made her cheeks ache. She waved goodbye to them once more.