Valkyrie (10 page)

‘Why?’ Leo Max asked.

‘Because it’s time you all learned to defend yourselves.’

CHAPTER TWELVE

F
reya walked back into the school, savouring that same wonderful feeling of success. Saving Leo Max from JP and his gang was almost as good as saving the couple in Chicago.

But those feelings faded quickly as she moved from one class to another and were replaced by a sense of being lost and confused by subjects she didn’t understand.

For her final class of the day, Freya was meant to have Physical Education. But when she presented her doctor’s note to the teacher she was dismissed and sent to join Expressive Arts.

Without Archie at her side, Freya felt alone as she entered the classroom. Even having Orus hidden under her coat didn’t help.

But soon Freya discovered that this was the one subject that she actually enjoyed.

‘Greta, before you sit down,’ the teacher, Mrs Breen, said, ‘I’m going to ask you to sing something for the class. I need to find out what music group you should be in.’

‘You want me to sing here? Now?’

When the teacher nodded, Freya inhaled deeply. She loved to sing with the other Valkyries, but had never sung to living humans before. She closed her eyes, and imagined she was back at Valhalla with Maya at her side. In the next moment, a soft and haunting song sprang from her lips; an ancient song, sung in the tongue of Asgard by all the Valkyries since the dawn of time. It told the story of a great love between a young Valkyrie and a valiant warrior. So beautiful was the warrior’s face that the Valkyrie fell instantly in love with him and couldn’t bear to reap him. So she went to Odin and begged for the warrior’s life. Unable to grant the request, Odin took pity on the lovesick Valkyrie and told her to give the warrior her name before he died. In doing so, they could be joined together forever in Asgard . . .

As the moments passed, her confidence grew and she poured out her heart in the music. When the song was over, Freya opened her eyes. The only sounds in the classroom were gentle sniffs as tears shone in the eyes of most of her classmates.

‘Greta,’ Mrs Breen said softly, hardly daring to break the spell. ‘That was enchanting. What is it called?’

Freya shrugged. ‘It has no name. It’s an old folk song my mother taught me. It’s about a lonely Valkyrie from long ago that falls in love with a warrior she has to reap and the pain she suffers fulfilling her duty.’ She looked around the room and saw, once again, the expressions of confusion. Did no one in this world know what a Valkyrie was?

‘You have the most delightful voice,’ Mrs Breen continued.

Freya looked over the class and saw everyone nodding in agreement. As she walked to her seat, she felt a warmth from the students directed at her.

When the final bell rang, Freya was surrounded by her new classmates, anxious to speak with her. She was barraged with questions about where she came from and how she’d learned to sing so well.

As they pressed closer, Freya could feel Orus squirming under the coat as he was squashed by the clinging students. His soft caws of protest turned to louder curses.

‘I had better go!’ Freya said quickly.

As the girls drifted away to catch their buses, Freya was left in a daze. She was so used to humans being mean to each other, it threw her off balance when they were nice.

‘Let me out!’
Orus cawed.

Freya opened her coat and the raven flew out. He circled the air and landed on her arm. His feathers were a mess and he was panting heavily.

‘I am never hiding in your coat again!’
he cawed
.
‘I nearly suffocated under there. And what was going on with all those girls? They nearly squished the life out of me! I was sure I was going to pass out!’

‘Sorry, Orus,’ Freya said. ‘I didn’t mean that to happen. They just came at me. I was surrounded.’

‘
Freya, it could have been a disaster if one of them had touched you. You mustn’t let them get that near you again. But then I suppose that’s the price to pay for being popular.’

‘I’m not popular,’ Freya insisted. ‘This is just my first day. They were being friendly.’

‘You had everyone in that class enchanted. Even the boys.’

‘How do you know?’

‘I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them,’
Orus said.
‘You bewitched everyone.’

‘I didn’t mean to,’ Freya said defensively. ‘Besides, it’s Mrs Breen’s fault. She told me to sing.’

‘Hey, don’t get mad at me because they liked you. If anyone has a right to be angry, it’s me, not you. I nearly died in your coat,’
Orus huffed
.
‘All I’m saying is, you’ve spent so long hating humans that when they’re nice to you you don’t know what to do. Enjoy this moment, Freya. You know it can’t last.’

‘Why? Are you saying they’re going to hate me once they get to know me?’

‘No, of course not! But soon you will have to leave them to return to Asgard. Just don’t get too attached to them. It will hurt when you go.’

Freya stroked the raven and considered his words. Orus was right. She was only a visitor here. She could not stay. Once Tamika’s family was safe and Archie protected from the bullies, she would have to leave.

At that moment Archie and Tamika came running up to her. ‘So?’ Archie asked. ‘How was your first class alone? Music, wasn’t it?’

‘Fine,’ Freya said, almost too quickly. ‘Everything went fine.

Freya was grateful to finally be able to take off her coat. As she and Archie sat at the kitchen table to start their homework, she stretched out her cramped wings.

‘I’ve never kept them folded for so long,’ she complained, as she massaged an ache in the long muscle of her right wing. ‘If I keep that coat on much longer, I’ll cripple myself.’

‘Not to mention the damage it’s doing to your feathers,’
Orus added.
‘Not that you keep them well preened anyway.’

Freya stuck out her tongue at the raven and refused to tell Archie what he’d said.

‘A few cramps are better than being seen,’ Archie remarked. Then a dark twinkle rose in his eyes. ‘Though I’d pay almost anything to see JP’s reaction if he saw them.’

Freya grinned. ‘Me too. It would almost be worth it to show him!’

Later, while Freya and Orus were tackling her Maths homework, Archie ran back into the kitchen, bursting with excitement. ‘Got it!’ He waved a printed piece of paper in front of her. ‘This is the answer to the Orus situation.’

‘What Orus situation?’ Freya asked.

‘Keeping him under your coat,’ Archie continued.

Orus’s nails clicked across the table and he hopped up on Archie’s arm.
‘Thank you,’
he cawed. He looked at Freya.
‘See? At least someone here cares about me!’

‘Oh, Orus, you know I care,’ Freya shot back. She picked up the paper and started to read:

Definition of Service Animal

Public Act 97-0956 (formerly HB 3826)

. . . The law requires schools to permit a student with a disability and using a service animal to have that service animal assist them at all school functions, whether in or outside the classroom, and whether it is trained or ‘being trained’ as a hearing animal, a guide animal, an assistance animal, a seizure alert animal, a mobility animal, a psychiatric service animal, an autism service animal, or an animal trained for any other physical, mental, or intellectual disability . . .

Freya put down the paper. ‘I don’t understand.’

‘It means,’ Archie said, ‘that since you already have a sick note saying you wear a back brace and can’t let anyone touch you, you can take Orus to school without hiding him under your coat. All you need is a medical note with a forged doctor’s signature – I can do that! We can say that he’s a service animal and you need him to warn you if anyone is getting too close to you.’

‘Perfect!’
Orus cawed.
‘No more suffocation!’

Freya reached out and grasped the raven. She brought him up to her lips and kissed him on the end of his sharp, black beak. ‘And no more sharp claws cutting into my side below my breastplate!’

They celebrated with macaroni and cheese . . . again. Freya said nothing, but realized it was one of only a couple of meals that Archie knew how to prepare. He needed someone to take care of him. His mother certainly wasn’t.

As the evening wore on, they sat together watching television. Eventually Archie retired to bed. When he was gone, Freya pulled out her school books and started to study again.

‘No going out tonight?’
Orus asked.

Freya shook her head. ‘I hated not understanding things in school today. I want to learn as much as I can as quickly as possible. If humans can learn this stuff, so can I.’

The next day Orus sat on Freya’s shoulder as they walked into school. They received more than a few stares as they walked through the halls.

‘What’s going on here?’ the school secretary demanded when she saw the raven. ‘You can’t bring that bird into the school!’

‘Good morning, Mrs Bergquist,’ Archie said brightly. He handed over the forged doctor’s notes. ‘Yesterday Greta tried coming to school without her service animal. But she became frightened when some of the kids in her music class got too near. She normally keeps Orus with her to warn of people getting too close behind her.’

Tamika nodded. ‘Yes, our grandmother was going to come with us this morning, but she couldn’t get a baby-sitter for my little sister. But you can call her if you want. She knows Cousin Greta needs Orus with her.’

Freya looked at Tamika in a new light. She knew the girl didn’t like Orus and was frightened of birds, but yet she was speaking bravely on the raven’s behalf.

‘I don’t know about this,’ Mrs Bergquist said. ‘I’ve never heard of a raven as a service animal before.’

Before Freya could speak, Archie pulled out another paper. It was from the Illinois General Assembly website with the statute he’d found on the Internet the previous evening. ‘It says here they have just allowed miniature horses to be service animals. If
they
can enter schools, so can ravens.’

Mrs Bergquist became flustered as she read the document. ‘Wait here.’ She disappeared into the Principal’s office.

She returned moments later. ‘Dr Klobucher would like to see you.’ The secretary directed Freya, Archie and Tamika into the Principal’s office.

‘That’s fine, Cheryl,’ said the Principal gently. ‘You can leave us now.’

Dr Klobucher rose and closed the door after the secretary. She stepped closer to Freya with her eyes lingering on Orus. ‘You have a raven as a service animal?’

She was average height with short, styled hair that reminded Freya of fine birds’ feathers. But it was her kind eyes and warm smile that struck her most. They revealed a deep caring for her students. Freya’s senses confirmed this. Archie had told her that Dr Klobucher was ‘cool’. But as the woman stood before her, she wondered if Archie knew just how good she really was.

‘Yes,’ Freya agreed. ‘He tells me when people are behind me and warns when they get too close.’

‘Is he friendly?’ Dr Klobucher asked.

Freya nodded. ‘He’ll let anyone touch him. He just caws if they get to close. Here, you can hold him if you like. He loves to be stroked.’

Orus gave Freya a sharp, accusing look, but allowed himself to be handed over to the Principal and endured her hand stroking the smooth black feathers on his back.

‘Well, he seems friendly enough,’ Dr Klobucher said, ‘but I must consider the safety of all the students in the school.’

‘Orus is my companion,’ Freya said. ‘We’ve been together for a very, very long time. He poses no danger to anyone here.’

The Principal handed the raven back to Freya and shook her head, laughing. ‘Well, this is a first for me! Legally, I can’t say no to a service animal, though this is very unorthodox. Let’s try it for the rest of the week and see how it goes. But if there is a problem with the teaching staff or students, we may have to look at it again.’

‘Thank you for letting Orus stay.’

‘Just keep him under control and there shouldn’t be a problem.’

Moments later the first bell rang. ‘I’ll escort you to your first class to let the teacher know what’s happening and then I’ll inform the others,’ said Dr Klobucher.

Freya’s morning classes went without a hitch. After the initial shock each class got used to the presence of the large raven on her shoulder at the back of the room.

At lunch Freya and Archie met up with Tamika and Leo Max. Orus remained on Freya’s shoulder, but was glad for the treats he was handed by the others. Throughout the lunch period, students from Freya’s music class came up to her. She was invited to a birthday party and asked to join the after-school Glee Club.

‘You’ve become really popular,’ Leo Max commented.

Freya shrugged. ‘It’s not me
–
it’s Orus they like.’

Leo Max laughed. ‘You’re not serious! Greta, boys I’ve never met before are coming up to me and asking questions about you. They would never have done that before. But because we’re friends, they want to meet you and have asked me to introduce you.’

‘Why do they want to meet me?’ Freya asked.

‘Are you kidding?’ Leo Max cried. ‘You’re beautiful and mysterious; everyone wants to meet you.’

Freya looked over to Archie. He said nothing but had a big grin on his face.

‘I’ve heard Jim Gardner was asking about you,’ Tamika added. ‘He’s the most handsome boy in school. I bet he asks you out to the dance.’

‘What dance?’ Freya asked.

‘You know, the winter dance next month,’ Tamika said. ‘Everyone’s going.’

‘Except me,’ Leo Max said sadly.

‘And me,’ Archie agreed.

Freya turned to Archie. ‘Why aren’t you going?’

‘JP says if any of us show up, he’ll pound us into the ground.’ Archie paused and grinned again. ‘But you can go
–
especially if Jim Gardner asks you!’

Freya was starting to feel uncomfortable by the turn in this conversation. ‘Don’t be foolish. Why would I go to a dance with a bunch of humans when everyone knows I don’t like them?’