Windswept (The Airborne Saga) (5 page)

Nate’s phone rang and the
guy chatted with somebody while Leela shifted to perch herself on the bed next to Avery.

“Are you okay? I forgot to ask if the harpie had hurt you
,” she asked with genuine concern in her brown eyes.

“More than fine. Just gave me a start.”

“They didn’t find anyone in the woods? Not anywhere?” Nate said on the phone, grabbing their attention for a moment. Avery guessed the delivery harpie had gotten away. Or Adalyn had taken him. Neither option made her feel overly optimistic, but at least the world wouldn’t be overturned by the supernatural tonight.

“Good. So the woman thought better of it and jetted off for another month. At least that’ll give us more time to study for finals
,” Leela said.

“Everything that has happened recently and you’re thinking about tests?” The laugh burst from Avery without restraint. Some of the anxiety eased. Leela rolled her shoulder innocently.

“You of all people should be thinking about it. I can help you in all the classes, but that English essay is going to be nothing but work.”

“Thanks. So you’re not worried about everything? Like me having to run off shortly again?”

“I am. I am horribly worried. Once again, Avery is back at school and in terrible danger.” Leela’s words were echoed with the wobble in her voice. But she continued, growing only stronger. “But in the meantime, I’m really glad you’re back. I’m glad we’ll have senior year together.” Leela smiled, and for once, Avery remembered what it was like to be home.

Four

              Strange for spring, the temperature had to be well over a hundred degrees in the classroom. Or at least it certainly felt like that. She rubbed the palm of her hands on her jeans vigorously until her pencil rolled off the desk and hit the floor. Avery cringed at the resounding clack in made in the otherwise silent classroom. She allowed her eyes to drift over the hunched bodies of her classmates, to the clock posted at the front of the room. After fighting for her life with vicious harpies for months now, Avery had forgotten how hard it was to pass a frikkin’ high school test.

             
She couldn’t stay focused. Only an hour again—or more appropriately only ten pages—and her mind kept drifting back to Mason. Her cell had been turned off and tucked into the pocket of her tote as it waited more patiently for the end of the test than she did. But what if Mason had been trying to call her? Would he interpret the lack of response to come busting in or would he have learned to take his time by now? She’d done nothing but blow up his phone since his lack of response still kept her on edge.

             
A forced cough made her head rise but she paused when she saw Leela’s wild gesture. The test still sat on her desk and her pencil still sat on the floor. Avery’s eyes landed back on the blackened inkjets words. Constitutional laws. Fun topic. She let her Willow-tattooed hand drop, and fumble around in her bag for a spare pencil.

             
She took the extra minute to scan how many small essays she had left. Five. Too many. Five more questions to do in the short amount of time left in class. Avery wished she could have blamed the lack of knowledge of this one on missing a good chunk of the semester. But with Leela’s outlines and every resource available to her, missing time wasn’t what was holding Avery up. Rather than studying a text book, she’d been studying maps. The image of the Alaskan coast had burned into the back of her eyelids with the red pins creating an awkward circle. She’d considered what to tell Mason on more than one occasion to truly explain the circumstances to him.

She barely heard the timer buzz
, but saw the teacher’s aide march up and snatch the test free from her desk. The twitchy aide circled the classroom and only when the last bundle of packets was in her arms did she announce their freedom.

             
Leela appeared at the side of the desk before Avery even stood.

             
“Brutal.” Avery got the first word in at least.

             
“Expected,” Leela commented.

             
Avery stretched to let the tension out of her shoulders.

             
“Where does this put us?”

             
“We need to review our English papers a final time but since we’ve earned it and have the weekend coming up, we can take a break tonight and clear our minds as needed.” Leave it to Leela to schedule relaxing. The girl already planned her panic attacks. Avery tried to hide her smile in her sleeve as she hoisted her tote back over her shoulder.

             
“Define relaxation for me,” Avery said as they shuffled out of the room. For what it was worth, the two girls were the only ones who managed to keep their heads up. They walked outside and with the temperature abruptly dropping, the air became so much more comfortable. They headed towards the mess hall with practiced quickness.

             
“Well there’s a party tonight—don’t give me that face. When’s the next time you’re going to go to a high school party?”

             
Avery kept up the cringe. They reached the cafeteria and Leela slipped in first. The assembly line was free to students, but no one ever got greedy with the bland food here. Well, except for after a final. They didn’t even have to think before grabbing an extra box of fries or that second Mountain Dew.

             
“Hopefully never. High schoolers don’t even like high school parties. That’s why they save it till college where they can actually get some alcohol that didn’t cost ten cents per gallon,” Avery over-exaggerated a little bit. Mayweather had some wealthy students that were willing to drive to the end of the Earth to pick up name brands in fancy bottles. Nate being one of them, their ‘in’ was ensured. Although it still wouldn’t make her opinion about the parties change.

             
They dropped into a pair of empty seats where Leela finally had the free hands to waggle a finger.

             
“Stop that. You’re being all high and mighty all of the sudden. The parties aren’t for drinking. The parties are for socializing. And we know it’d take a ton of drinks for a guy to even talk to you with that attitude.”

             
Leela called it out cold. Avery groaned overdramatically.

             
“I’ll come for you. But I don’t need to be chatted up by any guy who will take a swing at hooking up for no other reason than school is ending.” Even with Avery’s infallible logic, Leela’s lips twitched downwards.

             
“No hooking up. There are some nice guys out there. Not that you’ve ever paid attention. It wouldn’t kill you to talk to someone else.” Leela turned her attention down to the food and let her voice drop off.

             
A retort hovered at the edge of Avery’s tongue because it was another of Leela’s poorly hidden swings at Mason. Avery didn’t let any words escape. She sensed it now, that foreboding feeling that tickled her spine. She was inviting a fight with her best friend the last weeks of school. She took a moment to gather herself and wash the expression from her face. Her bag abruptly felt like it weighed two tons so she dropped it onto the floor, her eyes pinned for a second on her phone that waited inside.

“Where is this party anyways?” Avery hedged
in an attempt to control the conversation.

“The woods behind the dorm.”

Of course it was in the woods, it was always in the woods. 

“Well
, not to be a Debbie-downer but you of all people should be telling me to stay indoors.”

“Look, I’ve been tracking the harpie movement and it’s so far away. This isn’t a reason to stop living your life
, and besides, there are a lot of people around.” Leela was oddly adamant. While the girl was stubborn to the bone, the source of the stubbornness Avery couldn’t follow. She should have been level-headed or overly worried—not audacious and pushy with the party.

“What about Nate? Does he think
its okay?”

Leela answered a bit too quickly. “I don’t know. I don’t have to go everywhere and do everything with Nate.” She took a breath and continued
the next part slowly. “Look, Mason hasn’t answered you yet, has he?”

Sufficiently distracted, Avery couldn’t help her face falling.

“No.” Avery’s fingers snagged her phone up, turned it on, and hit redial with lighting speed. She tossed the phone towards Leela, but before it even reached the girl, Mason’s voicemail had already picked up.

“Hmm…” Leela feigned some interest while turning it off. She placed the Nokia off to the side to leave it ignored and forgotten.

“Look, I’m sure he’s fine,” Leela finally said. “He’s supposed to taking the crown or something, right? I bet that’s eating up his time. In fact, he even warned you that he’d be busy. But that’s not the point.”

“Busy is one thing. Two whole weeks without checking in to see if I even made it to Alaska? No chance.” Avery forced herself to breathe again.

Leela’s massive brown eyes for once didn’t show any sympathy.

“Yes but…Avery, that’s not the point. The point? I’ve wanted to talk to you about this for a while. I just didn’t want to shake you out of your zone so close to finals. So listen up…

“I think it’s a good thing. Besides Adalyn coming around, it’s been amazing since then you’ve been back with me. And with no Mason. Like old times. Let’s face it, it’s not the worst thing in the world that you’ve gotten a break from him, Avery.”

Avery stiffened. The fresh air suddenly seemed that much staler. Leela continued before Avery could.

“Remember when my sister moved to Florida to be near her boyfriend she’d only known for six months? You said she was crazy because she barely knew him. Spent all her time with him and totally neglected the rest of her life.”

“Okay, what are you saying?” Avery had to interrupt. She knew where the conversation was going
, expected it for a long time, but stayed determined to end it quickly.

“I’m
saying you’re just like her. Worse than her. Avery, you met Mason and since have done nothing but be suffocated by him! Have you even spent any time on your own? I think, whether he’s doing it intentionally, maliciously or not, he’s really influencing your life. More than he should be. I mean that college is going to be a nightmare trying to hide a harpie prince in your closet.”

Avery waited before answering, skull pounding as she ran through every possible response. She knew one thing, Leela was right. Mason had been…around to say the least. But she’d been around him just as much. Still not exactly ready to tell Leela her post
-high-school plans yet, she tried to divert the conversation. Using the same logic Leela prided herself with against her, Avery explained.