Enchantment (19 page)

Holly moved on to another room, another school. Same routine. She wasn't interested in any of them, really, but she collected a handful of literature hoping to satisfy her folks.

Toward the end of the hall was a room for the University of New Mexico. A lot of kids were standing around in there, talking with the handful of reps. Holly picked up a course catalog from a pile on one of the desks and flipped through it.

Her dad sidled up next to her. “You don't want to go to UNM, do you?”

“Maybe.”

Holly moved closer to one of the reps, an Asian guy who looked like he probably worked for the lab. He was talking to two other kids about satellite campuses.

When he paused, Holly asked, “What sort of degrees are available from the campus here in town?”

He smiled, liking the question. “We just added two undergraduate degree programs, forestry and computer science. We also offer mathematics, English, and education degrees.”

“What about engineering?” asked another kid.

“Main campus for that, but you can take the first two years worth of classes in weekend intensives at the Santa Fe campus.”

“What are those?” Holly asked.

“They're designed for students who have day jobs. Basically, you spend two full weekends in a row in classes, and earn one course's credits for it.”

That sounded interesting. Maybe she could do that and still live at home.

“Is there information about those in here?” Holly asked, lifting her course catalog.

“There's a listing. Here—let me give you one of these. More information in there.”

He handed her a smaller brochure titled “Advanced Education for the Employed.” Holly smiled her thanks and drifted away, still listening with half an ear while she browsed through the brochure.

This sounded promising. Maybe between the weekend intensives and the courses offered at the Las Palomas satellite, she could put together a degree.

In what, though? She hadn't thought about what would be a good career for her. She'd only been thinking of Ohlan.

She bit her lip. What kind of career would let her stay near him?

She drifted back over toward the Asian guy, who was chatting with the would-be engineer. She waited until the kid left, then stepped forward.

“What degrees are offered here, again?”

He smiled. “Forestry, computer science, mathematics, English, and education.”

“What's forestry about?”

His smiled dimmed a little; plainly this wasn't his favorite subject. “Land and resource management, basically. Here, there's a summary in here.”

He handed her another brochure, this one specifically about Las Palomas campus and its offerings. Holly smiled.

“Thanks.”

By now she had a stack of information a couple of inches thick. She glanced around the room and spotted her parents hovering near the door.

“I think I've got enough to think about,” she said, hefting the brochures as she joined them.

“You haven't looked at UC yet,” said Dad. “You can get in-state tuition, you know.”

Holly nodded. Because of the Lab's affiliation with the University of California, children of employees could attend UC at the lower rate. She wasn't interested in UC, though.

“It's pretty far away,” she said, glancing at Mom.

“Let's just stop in and have a look, OK?” Dad said. “Then we can call it a night.”

Holly stifled a sigh. “OK.”

There were almost as many kids in the UC room as there had been in the UNM room. Holly spotted the would-be engineer talking to a rep in a shirt and tie. All the other reps were busy talking one-on-one to prospective students, so Holly drifted over to a table full of literature. She picked up a course catalog and an introductory brochure about the Berkeley campus, then walked back to her parents.

“OK?” she said, flashing the literature to her dad.

He looked around the room, plainly hoping she'd talk to one of the reps, but they were all still busy. He shrugged.

“OK. You can always call if you have questions.”

“Or look them up on the web,” Holly said.

“Or that. OK, kiddo. Let's head home.”

Holly rode in the back seat with the stack of brochures on her lap, listening to her parents talk about the people they knew who'd been at the fair as reps for the schools. Mom's college, a small school back east, had not been represented. Dad had gone to University of Michigan and then Stanford, but neither of those had been at the fair, either. Holly wondered if her folks would urge her to consider those schools, too.

Fine. The more the merrier, and the longer she could delay a decision. Though she was thinking more and more that staying here and attending UNM was what she wanted, if she had to pick a school.

None of it mattered as much as Ohlan. She still hadn't figured out how to stop the demolition of the spring. Maybe she'd go back to the Forest Service office after school tomorrow, and plead with Mr. Drover.

Who would ask her why he should delay the project. A very expensive project, already contracted for, no doubt.

Same old dilemma, and it made her heartsick. She wished she was older, so people would listen to her, or smarter so she could make more convincing arguments.

The trouble was, she couldn't tell the truth about Ohlan because no one would believe her. And she didn't like lying. She was a lousy liar. If she was better at it, she could have made up something that maybe Mr. Drover and her parents would buy. Maybe.

This kind of thinking only made her miserable. She thought about Ohlan instead, and about when she could see him again. After school Friday. Never mind Mr. Drover. If her time with Ohlan was limited, and it was looking more and more like it was, then she wanted to spend every possible minute with him.

After school Friday, and maybe another quick visit after the movie. Her folks would assume she was hanging out with her friends.

Holly leaned forward, resting an elbow on each of the front seats. “The gang wants to go to the movies tomorrow night. That OK?”

Mom looked at Dad, who said, “As long as you're caught up on your homework.”

“I will be.”

When they got home Holly parked herself on the living room sofa so Mom and Dad would see her looking through college brochures while they watched the ten o'clock news. She picked up the one about UNM's Las Palomas campus and read through the descriptions of each degree, wondering which one would suit her best.

In a perfect world, the spring wouldn't be destroyed and Ohlan would recover his strength. Holly would stay in Las Palomas, and they'd be a couple. Maybe they'd even get married. Her parents would like him if they met him, she was sure. If he was right that most people assumed he was human, Mom and Dad probably would, too.

So, if all that happened, what would she do for school and a career? What would be the best job for her?

She glanced at the forestry degree again. Maybe if she got that degree, she could work for Mr. Drover at the Forest Service. She smiled, amused at the idea.

She could be a forest ranger. Ranger Holly.

She'd be in the woods a lot, which she liked. And if Ohlan was strong again, he could come see her wherever she was working.

She was liking this plan. She put down the brochure and looked through the indexes of the other schools' literature to see whether any of them offered forestry degrees. Only UC did, and California forests were pretty different from New Mexico forests. She was liking this plan a lot.

She glanced up at her folks, sitting side by side in their matching armchairs, absorbed in the TV. Home. Not wanting to leave home was part of what this was about. She loved Las Palomas, and couldn't imagine loving any other place as much.

She gathered her brochures and got up, walked around behind their chairs to give them stealth kisses, and yawned her way to her room. She was tired from the long day and the stress of the whole college question, though now that she was beginning to see possibilities she was less upset about it. She fell asleep almost at once and didn't wake until she heard a knock on her door.

That was unusual. She looked at the clock, wondering if she'd overslept, but it was actually a little early.

“Holly?” Dad's voice.

“Just a minute.”

She dragged herself out of bed and pulled on her slippers, combing her fingers through her hair. When she opened the door she saw Dad standing outside, frowning.

“What is it?”

“We need to talk to you. Come on out.“

She followed him through the kitchen, the smell of coffee and toast making her stomach rumble. Mom was sitting at the dining table, looking stressed. Her eyes were a little red. Holly stood beside her own chair, too upset to sit. Dad walked over to the sideboard.

“What is it?” Holly asked again.

Dad picked up a piece of paper and handed it to her. “We'd like to know the meaning of this.”

Holly glanced down and saw her photo of Ohlan, with email headers above. Madison had forwarded it to their folks.

Holly pressed her lips together, looking at the photo. The printout didn't do it justice—the glow was lost. She looked up into Dad's stern face and swallowed.

“He's a friend.”

“You're going out with a boy we haven't met?” said Dad. “You know the rules, Holly.”

“I'm not going out with him.”

“You took this photo up in the woods.”

“I met him there.”

Dad's eyes narrowed, and Holly could feel her face burning. While it was technically true that she wasn't “going out” with Ohlan, she knew that her folks wouldn't see it that way.

“How many times have you met him there?” Dad asked.

“A few,” Holly admitted.

“Agreeing to meet somewhere is as much a date as going to the movies. Holly, you know we don't have many rules, but we want you to keep the ones we have. You're not to date a boy before you bring him to meet us.”

He can't come to meet you.

“I didn't think it was dating.”

Lame argument. Dad didn't bother to challenge it.

“Who is he, Holly?” said Mom. “A boy from school?”

Holly shook her head, knowing it would look bad. She couldn't explain.

“An older boy?”

A lot older.

“Does he have a job?” Mom asked.

“Sort of.”

“Sort of?” said Dad. “Where does he work?”

Holly nodded toward the picture. “In the forest.”

“Who's his employer?”

She shrugged. “No one.”

Mom made a small, unhappy sound. Holly couldn't blame her. They must think Ohlan was a bum.

“You are grounded, young lady,” said Dad. “No movie tonight, or tomorrow night. You come straight home from school.”

Stunned, Holly looked up at him. “But—“

“No buts. And you are not to call this boy.”

“He doesn't have a phone!”

“Fine. You're not to see him, either. Now you'd better get dressed or you're going to be late.”

Anguished, Holly turned and ran to her room. Part of her was in shock that her folks knew about Ohlan. Damn Madison anyway—if she didn't want to be Holly's keeper, she should butt the hell out!

She pulled the door shut behind her and stood staring into space, wondering what to do. She didn't care about the movie, but she cared a lot about being able to see Ohlan.

The thought that she'd been toying with—of sneaking out to visit Ohlan at night—returned to her. She'd never defied her parents like that; she'd been a boringly obedient and not-wild child her whole life. Madison was the one who snuck out at night and got into trouble. Madison, the snitch.

Holly's eyes narrowed as she contemplated telling the folks about Mad's smoking in retaliation for her forwarding Ohlan's photo to them. She savored the thought for a moment, then discarded it. She would be better than Madison. That was a sweeter revenge.

A soft tap on her door woke her from her reverie. She pulled off her nightshirt and opened her dresser drawer.

“Holly?” called her mom through the door.

“I'm getting dressed.”

“Can I come in?”

Holly grabbed a t-shirt at random and slammed the drawer. She put on her bra and pulled the shirt over her head, just as she heard the door open and quietly close.

Mom stood with her back against the door. Ignoring her, Holly strode to her closet. Yesterday's jeans were clean enough. She pulled them on, then went back to the dresser for socks.

“Holly … why didn't you tell us about this boy?”

Holly sat on the bed to put on her socks and sneakers. “Ohlan. His name is Ohlan.”

And I tried to tell you about him. You wouldn't believe me.

“Holly, are you in trouble?”

Holly stopped with a sock halfway on one foot, to stare at her mother in amazement. “What? 'In trouble?' God, Mom, you sound like one of your soap operas! We haven't done anything, OK?”

Mom's eyes closed for a moment. “Honey, I know you're upset. We're just trying to take care of you the best we know how.”

Holly felt a bubble of anger growing inside her. She finished tying her right shoe with a sharp tug on the knotted laces, stood, and picked up her backpack.

“Am I allowed to have breakfast, or is that part of the punishment?”

Mom stepped aside. “Of course you can have breakfast.”

Holly brushed past her and headed for the kitchen. Mom followed, in full-tilt mother-hen mode.

“We're not doing this to be mean. We talked about the rules and you agreed to them.”

Holly grabbed a mug and filled it with coffee, took a sip and scalded her tongue. Grimacing, she put the coffee down to let it cool while she poured cereal into a bowl.

“You're becoming a young woman now and we understand that, but you can't keep secrets about it. Not from us.”