The Seven (Fist of Light Series) (3 page)

I shut the door quietly behind me as I left Mr. Tanner’s room, still having trouble thinking of him as just Bill, as he had told me to call him. He exuded an air of natural authority that commanded respect. The huge wire-rimmed spectacles that he wore, however, gave him an almost comedic image. The glasses had almost hidden the glint of determination in the director’s eyes, but it became clear, quickly enough. This was not a man who backed down from a confrontation without giving just as much as he got. A complex man, my mother would say. What had driven him to become the overseer of a bunch of rotten, down-and-out kids, I hadn’t the faintest idea.

I looked down at the slip of paper I held in my hand, memorized the schedule I had been given by Bill, and then zipped it up in the front pocket of the black backpack Mr. Tanner had been so generous as to give me.

It looked like my schedule was going to be relatively easy. The math and chemistry I wasn’t too sure about. I had been doing fine in the two subjects the last time I had been caught and put in the foster care system, but that could’ve changed. Looked like I’d just have to wait and see what came of it. Maybe this whole school thing wouldn’t be too bad after all, if what Em had said rung true.

Mr. Tanner had told me that I should go straight out to the buses. He told me it just wouldn’t do to be late on my first day. I agreed. I didn’t feel like pushing my luck so early in the game. Better to see what the cards dealt me before I committed to a move. I flipped the hood of my jacket up as I went outside, wondering how I was going to distinguish between the two identical buses that were almost completely full. Stopping in my tracks and looking like a floundering fish must’ve given me away, though. Emily stuck her head out the window of the foremost bus and waved to me. I nodded back and headed that way. The bus was an old number, the ever-present yellow with black stripes model. I got in the bus behind a bunch of other kids. Some of them sat alone, looking lost and wanting to be left to their devices. I knew the type. Reclusive from traumatic experiences, it could take them the rest of their lives to be functioning members of society. Others were defiant against the lot they had been given. Although this was obviously a uniquely well-equipped foster home, they lashed out at everything. That was their defense mechanism. The rest of the kids were what you would expect, normal kids.

Then, there was Emily, who stood out like a black diamond among the rocks, perched on a cliff face, just out of reach. Even in this dump, she beamed like a lighthouse pointing the way to sanctuary, directing my progress. Just being near her I could feel it, and I thought it odd that none of the others seemed to. I’d think people would be jumping all over each other to get her attention.

I broke out of my reverie, stopping in the aisle directly in front of Emily. “Hey.” That was stupid of me. Is that best I could come up with?

“Hi. Wanna sit down?” Her lips upturned into a mischievous smile.

“I think I might sit,” I replied, quivering my lips in return and slinging my backpack off my shoulder and placing it on the floor between my legs.

Her eyes locked onto the backpack that had been provided. “So what’s your schedule look like? Lemme see!”

Obviously not intending for me to answer, she reached down and unzipped my backpack herself and snatched the form from it. Which overloaded my brain processing functions for at least 2.4 seconds. While I rebooted, she exclaimed several times over the contents of my schedule.

“We have first, second, and fifth period together! Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Definitely. Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, then.”

“It’ll be great! You’re just going to love this school. I’ll make sure of it! And you
must
try out for the football team! They’re still looking for a couple of players. You look like you have the makings of a running back.” She emphasized her point by firmly squeezing my leg with her free hand.

“Hmmm… maybe I will,” I replied noncommittally.

Barely succeeding in not jumping at the electric feel of her contact, I thought about the sport. I’d always wanted to play football. It made it very difficult to join a team when you left schools just as soon as you could pack a bag and leave. Maybe I would try out. There couldn’t be much harm in that. Daydreaming about glorious touchdowns and eternal glory, I almost missed her next comment.

“Look! Maybe it’ll turn out to be a nice day after all. The rain’s stopped!”

“Yeah and if you look right there,” I pointed, “you can see the end of the cloud bank. I bet by the time we get to school the sun will be shining.”

I was right about the skies being clear by the time we arrived at school. The clouds were just a distant memory on the horizon as we pulled up in front of Adams High School. Luckily, I got there with minimal embarrassment on my part, which I took as a win on any day. Everyone piled off the bus in a disorganized mass. Emily stayed close behind the whole way. As we got off, I was pleasantly surprised when she slipped her arm through mine and another electric pulse radiated through my body. That happened to be the only thing restraining me when I saw four juniors surrounding a couple of kids who had gotten off the bus together. It was obvious what was happening and that Em had purposely done what she had to slow me. That meant this was a recurring problem.

I couldn’t stand people like those guys. Four obviously loaded kids taking the only cash foster kids were able to scrounge together so they could go out and buy a new toy. Despicable. I sized up the leader quickly enough.

“You knew this was happening and you tried to stop me. Why?” I glared at Em. My anger was scorching.

“That’s Rex Simmons. He’s the linebacker on the football team. I didn’t want you getting in trouble on your first day of school! Caleb, I was just trying to help.” Her eyes pleaded with me.

My eyes grew hard and determined. “Sometimes the cards are stacked against you. But that doesn’t mean you just sit there and lose. If there’s one thing I’ve learned these past couple years, it’s how to beat the system. Now let me handle this before the bell rings.”

She slipped her arm out from under mine and I strode forward with purpose. The lack of her touch was a distant feeling, replaced by a simmering rage. I could almost imagine it as a palpable thing, creating waves that rocked the four bullies back onto their heels.

I plastered a shit-eating smile to my face. “Hey, Rexxy, ever hear the saying ‘Left ear buccaneer, right ear queer’?”

That got their attention. Now that they had a more amusing thing to do with their time, they turned toward me and pushed the two other kids off with catcalls and jeers, promising to finish what they started. Confident in his superior numbers, Rex strode forward.

“Another charity case. Where do they get all this garbage from?” Unshakable and annoying confidence oozed from his pores.

“Same place you got your ‘I love puppies’ tattoo. Aren’t you a bit old to be stealing lunch money from little kids? I’m sure you don’t need it.”

“I’ll show you what I need, and it starts with giving you a beating!” He grinned and advanced.

I kept my expression neutral. “And I thought today was going to be boring. Well then boys, hop to it. Don’t they teach you anything in school?”

Even though all four of them had completely surrounded me, I noticed the nervousness on the faces of Rex’s lackeys. They expected me to be pleading with them to leave me alone. All outward appearances pointed to the fact that I was supremely confident while faced with four opponents in a fight. On the inside, my simmering rage finally boiled over and any tension I had felt was wiped away. As I sensed the first punch on its way toward me from behind my back, I stopped thinking and reacted. Time appeared to slow.

As I spun to face the most imminent threat, I shot my left hand out to redirect my attacker’s right-handed punch. He ended up off balance and still moving forward. I tripped then elbowed Lackey Number One in the back of the head. Lackey Number Three already had a kick aimed my way. Lackey Number Two was going for a more standard hands-on approach. Rex, of course, was in the back of the group, just watching for now, coward to the core.

I took some inspiration from Lackey Number Three and kicked a now very close Number Two right in the jewels. I winced in general sympathy and shifted my attention to the right. Number Two fell to rock back and forth in pain on the ground. I was too late to block Number Three’s kick, so I took it on the outside of my right leg and gave him a solid right palm to the face. Number Three experienced the fifteen pounds of pressure it takes to break a nose. A gush of blood sprayed from the last minion’s nose, I turned to face Rex.

Rhythmic clapping followed by a hearty laugh interrupted us. “What a show! What a show! I could use someone like you on my team, kid. What’s your name?”

“Caleb Holden,” I responded evenly to a man I presumed was one of the faculty.

“The name’s Mr. Sanders, or Coach to you. I teach P.E. and coach the varsity football team here. You’ve sure got a good arm there! How about you stop by my office after school for a chat on your future, eh?” He shifted his attention to a glaring Rex and three others in no condition to be doing something so strenuous as glaring. “Clean yourselves up, boys, and Rex, that’s no way to be looking at a fellow human being. Now scram!”

I watched four chastised bullies scurry off to the garbage where they belonged.

“Thanks, Mr. Sanders. I wouldn’t have wanted to get in trouble on the first day of school.” I stopped myself from smirking.

He cocked his ear as the bell tolled the start of classes for the day. “Not a problem at all, Caleb. I was just thinking that those four needed to be taken down a peg. But that’s the bell and I wouldn’t want to be late. Enjoy your first day at Adams High.”

Now, that was extremely odd. I had never met one teacher who actually promoted violence at school. It didn’t look like I’d have much time to think about my good fortune, however, because familiar and unfamiliar faces quickly surrounded me. It looked like old Rex and his crew got around. Smiling faces patted me on the back and gave good-natured compliments.

“Nice job, man.”

“Thanks,” I replied, somewhat flustered. “They deserved what was coming to them.”

For all their congratulations, I don’t think I did myself any favors by picking a fight with the first person I didn’t like. It set up a precedent for more fighting. The fights I could handle, but it would be very difficult to keep a low profile when you were known to be good entertainment. All kids love a good fight; I wondered if they were already taking bets on the next one.

I pushed my way out of the circle, nodding occasionally as necessary. Who said I wasn’t sociable? I spotted Emily off to one side, clearly waiting on me. She waved me over as I extricated myself from the teeming throng of admirers.

Her expression was indecipherable. “Couldn’t you have waited until you were here more than two minutes before getting yourself into a fight?”

She seemed distracted, as if she was looking through me rather than at me. I shrugged the sensation off, labeling it as a pacifist’s need to avoid bloodshed. “I had a friend once who was killed for the shoes on his feet, all because no one stood up for him in his moment of need.”

An awkward silence ensued as we continued to walk toward our shared first period class. For a second, I thought there was an appraising glint in Em’s eyes, but it disappeared as soon as it revealed itself. A warm, tingling sensation froze me in my tracks. I put a hand on my chest, where my medallion lay against my skin. Adrenaline from the fight, I thought. Ahead of me, Emily had walked ten paces before halting. She was waiting anxiously, seeming to stare through me. Weird. I couldn’t ignore that kind of thing twice. Something was up. Even if she wasn’t hard on the eyes, I didn’t want to be a part of some puzzle she was putting together in her mind. No way.