Flight of Life (Essence Series #1) (19 page)

“
I’m standing right here,”
Easton said. “I can hear you.”

Breccan ignored her. “I’m so
jealous.”

“
I wouldn’t be,” Calloway
said. “I’m probably going to make an idiot out of myself. What am I
supposed to do with her? I don’t even know how to talk to
her.”

Easton rolled her eyes. “Just talk to
her like how you talk to me,” she said. “You can be very charming,
Calloway. Weston wouldn’t have agreed to go with you if she didn’t
like you.”

Calloway felt his heart race. “She
likes me?”

“
You know what I mean,”
Easton said.

Breccan stared at Calloway. “So this is
what you do,” he said. “Bring her flowers and candy—the whole
package—and tell her how beautiful she is the entire
evening.”

“
But she probably gets
that from guys all the time,” Calloway said. “And she knows that
she’s beautiful—I don’t need to remind her.”

“
Do you want to kiss
Weston by the end of the night or not?” Breccan asked.

The idea of kissing Weston sent him
into a panic attack. He’d never kissed a girl before and didn’t
want to start with an older and more experienced woman. Calloway
shook his head. “No, I don’t want to kiss her,” he said. “We’re
going as friends—nothing more.”

Breccan stared at him with an
incredulous look. “You can’t be serious,” he said. “You’re going
with Weston and you aren’t even going to try to make it a
date?”

“
If she wanted to be
something more she would just tell me,” Calloway said. “And she has
made it very clear—we are just friends. Besides, why would she date
a guy who’s still in high school?”

“
That doesn’t matter,”
Breccan said quickly. “Just do what I say and it’ll
work.”

“
You’ve probably never
even had a girlfriend,” Easton said.

Calloway was certain she was correct
but he didn’t want to embarrass his cousin. “I see Weston just as a
friend. I’m not going to put the moves on her like every other guy.
I’m sure she gets tired of it.”

Breccan rolled his eyes. “You’re never
going to get a girlfriend with that attitude.”

The lights in the basement suddenly
turned off, leaving them in complete darkness. Breccan’s face was
obscured in shadow, and Calloway couldn’t see his nose in front of
his face. Everyone stopped their words in mid-sentence as they
looked into the blackness.

“
This happens sometimes,”
Easton said.

“
What?” Calloway
asked.

“
The power goes out,” she
said. “Weston needs to fix the power switch upstairs.”

Calloway played with the glowing orb in
his pocket. “We should probably go anyway,” he said. “It’s getting
late and I have work in the morning.”

“
You already sound old,”
Breccan said.

Calloway ignored his comment. “Let’s
help Weston on our way out.”

They grabbed their bags from the
surface of the table using the light of Easton’s cell phone then
walked up the ladder. When they came into the living room, Weston
was studying the switches on the wall. Calloway and Breccan both
walked over to the electric breaker and stared at the
buttons.

“
Press this button to
reset the power,” Calloway said as he pointed to the switch. Weston
held her light over the switch and she could see Calloway’s finger.
She pressed the button and the lights came back on in the
house.

“
Thank you,” she said as
she stood up.

“
Of course,” Calloway
said.

“
Are you guys leaving?”
she asked.

“
Yes,” Calloway said.
“It’s past our bedtime.”

Weston laughed. “Drive safe,” she
said.

The three walked out of
the house and into the car down the road. Calloway felt his heart
accelerate when he thought about the winter formal. Weston was
gorgeous and eye-catching—she would be the most beautiful girl in
the building—and she agreed to go with
him
. He just hoped he wouldn’t
embarrass her and make her regret her decision to be his date.
Calloway hoped that arriving to the dance with an older, attractive
woman would make him more popular and less likely to be teased, but
he knew that wasn’t likely—Hawk would never stop.

Innately Good

“
I’ve been here for four
hours and not a single customer has walked in,” Calloway said as he
leaned against the counter. He already cleaned everything and
restocked all the supplies—he didn’t have anything to do. Calloway
looked at the television in the lobby and watched the football game
on the screen. It was the playoffs.

“
That’s for two reasons,”
Marquan said as he opened the plastic around the cookie and started
to eat it. Their boss said his employees could eat whatever they
wanted on their break, and he didn’t care if the workers snacked
when it was slow, but Calloway could never allow himself to do
it—he felt like he was stealing. “One—it’s Sunday. And two—the
playoffs are on. Everyone is eating pizza and hot wings. No one
cares about sandwiches.”

“
I’m bored,” Calloway
said. “Is there anything we can do?”

“
I used to be like you.”
Marquan laughed. “But not no more.”

Calloway sighed. “I don’t like the idea
of being paid to do nothing.”

“
Joe knows that we’re slow
on Sundays—he doesn’t care. You can even do homework if you want.
At least you’re being productive that way.”

Calloway shook his head. “I would feel
uncomfortable doing that.”

“
Do you have finals coming
up?” Marquan asked.

“
Yes,” Calloway answered.
“I can’t wait until winter vacation. I need a break.”

“
And then you have a whole
semester left,” Marquan said. “But don’t worry because it’ll go by
fast.”

“
I hope so,” he said. “How
is school for you?”

“
It’s fine,” he said. “I
just have some papers to write and some labs to do.”

“
What’s your major?”
Calloway asked.

“
Biology and Chemistry,”
he answered.

“
That sounds
hard.”

Marquan rolled his eyes. “It really
isn’t,” he said. “If you put the time in, you’ll be
fine.”

“
What do you want to do
with that?”

“
I haven’t decided,”
Marquan said. “I was thinking about medical school but I’m just a
freshman—we’ll see if I survive.”

Calloway laughed. “I’m sure you’ll do
fine.”

“
I’ll let you know,” he
said. “Have you picked a major?”

“
I’m thinking about
English.”

Marquan nodded. “That’s cool,” he said.
“Any reason why?”

“
I’ve always liked
English—reading the classics and writing essays—I just enjoy
it.

“
That didn’t answer my
question.” Marquan laughed. “You just explained why it’s a hobby.
Why do you want to
study
it?”

Calloway thought for a moment. He
didn’t have a specific reason. Mr. Avey was a huge influence in his
decision. He was the first teacher that ever made a class
enjoyable. “To teach others, I guess.”

“
So you want to be a
teacher?”

“
Yes,” Calloway answered.
He looked at the clock on the wall and realized his shift was over.
He just had to wait for the evening employees to come
in.

Marquan caught his look. “What time is
it?”

“
It’s four.”

“
Good,” he said as he
stuffed the rest of the cookie into his mouth. “I’m ready to get
out of here.”

The door opened and the night manager
walked in. “Hey, Calloway,” she said with a smile. “Hello, Marquan.
Is everything done?”

“
Of course,” he said. “Cal
and I got this.”

She smiled then walked into the back,
clocking in and returning to the front.

“
Let’s go,” Marquan said
to Calloway. They both clocked out and walked outside the store.
“You wanna ball it up?” he asked.

“
What?” Calloway
asked.

“
Do you want to play
basketball?” He laughed.

“
Sure,” Calloway answered.
“I’m not very good though.”

“
That don’t matter,”
Marquan said as he got into the car. They drove to the high school
and parked by the basketball courts. Calloway left his bike in the
backseat and both of the boys walked to the nearest court. They
decided to play in their work clothes because they didn’t care
about getting their uniform dirty—they were just going to wash it
anyway.

Marquan made a shot in the basket then
Calloway dribbled the ball back to the free-throw line and made a
shot.

“
Not bad,” Marquan said as
he ran to the ball and dribbled it back. “So why are working while
you’re in high school?” he asked. “Is the money for you or your
family?”

“
My family,” Calloway
answered as he stole the ball from Marquan and made the shot. “I
made a stupid mistake and it cost my aunt and uncle a lot of
money.”

“
You don’t live with your
parents?” he asked.

“
They are dead,” Calloway
said bluntly. He passed the ball to Marquan but Marquan didn’t move
try to make a basket.

“
I’m sorry,” he said. “I
didn’t know that.”

“
It’s okay,” Calloway
said. “It was a long time ago.”

“
What
happened?”

“
Well, my mom got sick and
passed away when I was young. I’m not sure why she died. Every time
I ask my aunt, she starts to cry and can barely talk.”

“
Is your aunt your
mother’s sister?” Marquan asked.

“
Yes,” Calloway said. “And
my father was mugged then killed when he was walking down the
street. I have memories of him but not many. That’s when my aunt
and uncle became my legal guardians.”

“
And what did you do to
cause them such grief?” Marquan aimed the ball and made the
basket.

Calloway ran to the ball and retrieved
it. “The same thing I already told you—I defended that girl who
came into the shop yesterday.”

“
I’m not
following.”

“
Well, the guy started to
direct his aggression toward me when we were in photography class.
He took my camera and smashed it in the ground and destroyed it,
making my family responsible for repairing it since it was checked
out under my name.” Calloway aimed the ball and made it through the
hoop. Marquan didn’t retrieve it.

“
Are you serious?” he
asked. “That guy that came yesterday sabotaged you like
that?”

Calloway nodded. “And the camera is
worth two thousand dollars. My aunt is sick and can’t work so I’m
trying to get the money before she has to find a job—she shouldn’t
have to pay for that.”

“
It’s a good thing you
waited to tell me,” he said. “I would have punched him in the face
right in the middle of the store—or even better—I would have wiped
the bottom of my shoe with his bread.”

Calloway started laughing. “Hawk isn’t
worth it.”

“
What kind of name is
Hawk?” he asked. “Is he a bird lover or something?”

“
It’s his middle name,”
Calloway explained.

“
I doubt it’s much better
than his first name.”

“
It’s Maurice,” Calloway
said.

“
I stand corrected.”
Marquan laughed.

Calloway walked to the ball and tucked
it under his arm. “After the school year is over I’ll never have to
see him again. I’m just trying to focus on that moment.”

“
You shouldn’t have to,”
Marquan said. “Bullies like that need to be put down.”

“
I can’t think of a way
without getting in trouble. Since I’m applying to college I can’t
risk receiving any infractions on my permanent record.”

“
I hear you,” Marquan
said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to
help—
anything
.
I’m totally willing to help you out with the money.”

Calloway stared at him for a moment. “I
really appreciate that but I can’t accept it. I’ll get the money
eventually—don’t worry about it.”

“
Let me know if you change
your mind,” Marquan said.

“
Thanks, MQ,” he said.
Calloway was touched that Marquan had offered his assistance in
such a way. He knew his friend was just as poor as he was, and the
fact that Marquan offered his own money astounded Calloway. It
solidified his belief in humanity—they were innately
good.

A Line that Can Never be
Uncrossed

The delicious scent of the waffles woke
Calloway. They were dripping with syrup and butter, along with the
scent of cinnamon. The smell attracted Calloway to the kitchen
table and he ate his breakfast quickly, like every other morning.
His aunt was an exceptional cook—the best.

The kitchen table was covered in
newspapers and advertisements, and Calloway read through the comic
section while he ate. Breccan was already eating his meal and he
was almost finished. His cousin practically inhaled his food. Aunt
Grace was sitting at the kitchen table reading the classified ads,
looking for a full-time job to pay for the camera Hawk destroyed.
The cost of the camera plagued Calloway’s mind and filled him with
dread—it was his fault. Calloway glanced at the red circles on the
page and hoped he could make enough money before his aunt started
working—he didn’t want her to suffer. Calloway and Breccan were
ignorant to Aunt Grace’s sickness because she hid her symptoms very
well. She seemed so happy that it was hard to believe she was sick
at all, but they knew she couldn’t handle a full time
job.