Wings (3 page)

“Did you make it?” asked Tamisin when Heather came back a few minutes later.

“Of course not,” said Heather. “But you did! You’re the first name on the list!”

“You’re kidding me!”

“I told you that you would. We should do something to celebrate.”

The bell rang in the hall; they had five minutes to get to first-period class and their classrooms were at the other end of the building.

“Race you there!” said Tamisin.

Laughing, the two girls clutched their backpacks to their chests and dashed down the hall. A computer
science teacher stuck his head out of his doorway and called after them, “No running, girls!”

“We’re not,” Tamisin called back. “We’re celebrating!”

At the next hallway, Heather waved good-bye as Tamisin turned the corner. Tamisin was still waving to her friend when she ran full tilt into a boy standing in front of his locker. They fell to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs as her backpack skidded down the polished linoleum and his books went flying. In an instant he was back on his feet, so nimbly that Tamisin wondered if
he
was a dancer.

“Sorry,” she said as she scrambled to stand up. “I’m not usually this clumsy.”

“Neither am I,” said the boy, handing her the backpack. “I’m Jak, and you are …”

“Tamisin,” she said.

Jak was about her height and had thick, dark hair and the deepest blue eyes she’d ever seen. The rest of his features weren’t anything extraordinary—his nose was straight, his chin square, his lips full—but as a whole he was surprisingly handsome.

“Are you all right?” he asked as she stood there, speechless.

“Sure, uh … yes. But I should be asking you that. I ran into you, remember?”

Jak shrugged. “I was in your way.”

The bell rang again, signaling the start of classes. “Darn!” said Tamisin. “I’m late!”

“I guess that means I am, too. I’m not used to the bell system yet. I just started yesterday.”

“Go to class, unless you want to get into trouble,” she said over her shoulder as she hurried down the hall. Reaching the door to her classroom, she glanced back. Jak was still standing where she’d left him, staring after her.

Hey, Tamisin! Over here!”

Tamisin stopped on the steps to see who was calling her. Dance practice had lasted longer than she’d expected, and she hadn’t thought anyone would still be around. The other girls had rides or cars of their own, but Tamisin lived only a few blocks from the school and walked home every day.

Two boys were waiting by the curb. One was Jeremy Johnson, a friend of her brother’s. He was with the new boy, Jak, which surprised her. Jeremy was into sports and usually hung around with the other jocks. Jak didn’t seem to be anything like Jeremy’s usual friends.

“Hi, Jeremy,” Tamisin said as she reached the sidewalk in front of the school. “What’s up?”

“You’ve met my man Jak here, haven’t you?”

Tamisin nodded. “Sure. We ran into each other right after he started here.”

Jak grinned, transforming his face. Where he’d looked
angry just a moment before, he now looked approachable. “You should smile more often,” she said, surprising herself because she hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

“All right,” said Jak as if he was taking her suggestion to heart. “But why?”

Tamisin shrugged. “You’ll make more friends that way.”

Jeremy snorted and punched Jak in the arm. “Jak here doesn’t need to worry about making friends. He’s cool. Everybody likes Jak.”

Jak gave Jeremy a half smile, but Tamisin thought he looked uncomfortable.

“Hi, Jeremy,” cooed a voice that Tamisin knew too well. It was Kendra again with Tiffany.

“Kendra,” Jeremy said, not looking too pleased. Jeremy had dated Kendra for a few weeks the year before. Tamisin didn’t know exactly what had happened, but Jeremy had broken up with her.

Kendra must have noticed Jeremy’s reaction because her smile became brittle and forced. “Why don’t you introduce me to your friend? You’re the new boy, aren’t you?” she said to Jak.

Tamisin laughed. Since kindergarten Kendra had been a terrible liar. “This is Jak,” Jeremy said, sounding defensive. “Jak, that’s Kendra.”

“Hi!” Kendra turned up the wattage of her smile until Tamisin was almost embarrassed for her, especially since Jak didn’t seem the least bit interested.

“Hey,” he said.

“So, Tamisin,” said Jeremy. “You busy? Jak and I are headed over to—”

Jak staggered and nearly bumped into her. A gray cat from somewhere in the neighborhood had crossed the street and was forcefully rubbing against Jak’s legs. “Don’t do that!” said the boy, sounding more annoyed than surprised as he shoved the cat away with his foot. Only Kendra didn’t seem to notice. She had turned to Tamisin the moment Jeremy spoke her name.

“So Tamisin, I didn’t see you standing there. Why are you here so late? Were you getting extra help today or was it detention?”

Tamisin tried not to look as irritated as she felt. “I had dance practice and—”

“I can’t imagine why you’re wasting your time talking to her, Jak. You’re new here, so I guess you haven’t heard about Tamisin. She’s a freak—everybody knows it. I bet you’ve never seen ears like hers. Here,” Kendra said, thrusting her books at Tiffany. “Look at this!”

Tamisin was too stunned to avoid her when Kendra shoved Tamisin’s hair behind her ear, exposing the one thing Tamisin never let anyone see, the pointed tip. “Have you ever seen anything like that?” Kendra asked, laughing.

Jeremy looked disgusted, but not at Tamisin. “Give it a rest, Kendra,” he said. “Nobody cares what her ears look like.”

“There you are!” Heather called to Tamisin as she came around the building. “I was waiting in back by the gym door.”

“Sorry,” said Tamisin. “I came through the building. I didn’t think you’d still be here. We got out so late …”

“That’s Heather,” Jeremy told Jak.

“Hey,” said Jak.

Heather smiled at Jeremy, then turned to Jak, saying, “It’s nice to meet you.” She sounded congested.

Tamisin peered at her friend and frowned. “Are you all right? Your eyes are getting puffy.”

Heather brushed at her eyes with the back of her hand. “There must be a cat around.” The gray cat appeared from behind Jak, still rubbing against his legs. “Oh!” said Heather, taking a step back. A second cat had padded across the street to join the first, and both were doing figure eights around Jak’s ankles.

Jak stepped away from the cats, who ran after him, purring, with their tails straight up in the air. “I told you to stop that!” he muttered.

Heather reached into her pocket for a tissue. “I don’t understand. I’m allergic to cats, but it doesn’t usually bother me when I’m outside.”

“I’d better get you home,” Tamisin said, taking her by the arm. “See you tomorrow,” she told Jak and Jeremy.

“She doesn’t look so good,” said Tiffany.

Kendra laughed. “Does she ever? Last year…”

Tamisin didn’t wait for Kendra to finish before she led Heather away. Although Heather’s eyelids were so puffy that she could barely see, it didn’t stop her from talking. “I hate that girl,” she mumbled from behind a tissue. “I remember how nasty she was in first grade when you showed me your ears. And then that boy who stole my pencil box pulled your ear to see if it was real and you punched him in the stomach.”

“I remember,” said Tamisin.

Heather shoved her soggy tissue into her pocket and began to look for another. “And then there was that time in sixth grade when Kendra teased you about your face. You’d gone camping with your family and when you came home you had shiny freckles. You called them spreckles and told me you got them when you danced with the fairies. I almost believed you, too. Then that awful Mrs. Pitts yelled at you for wearing glitter to school and scrubbed your face until your skin was red. Kendra thought it was so funny.”

“I’d almost forgotten,” said Tamisin. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“You know me,” said Heather. “I have a mind like a steel trap. Too bad I also have a nose like a dripping faucet. You don’t have any tissues on you, do you?”

Tamisin shook her head. “No, I don’t. Sorry.”

“I’m sure I have some more somewhere,” Heather said, searching her pockets again. “Do you remember when …”

But Tamisin had something else on her mind. She had seen Jak’s expression when Kendra showed him her ear, expecting to find some sign that he was as put off as most people were when they saw it. Instead, he had looked pleased. His reaction confused her and left her wondering exactly what he was thinking. Aside from members of her family, he was the first person to see her ears since she was six years old. After the incident at school, she had always worn her hair down.

Tamisin touched her ear again to reassure herself that her hair was covering it. Somehow she was sure that if
she turned around, Jak would still be watching her. She was fighting the urge to glance back when she heard rustling in the branches overhead. Peering through the leaves, she glimpsed a manlike creature with pointed ears and a raccoon’s mask. Startled, Tamisin gasped softly. He looked just like the little man she’d seen rolling in a trash can on that long-ago Halloween.

A twig snapped and Heather looked up as leaves rained down on them. “It must be a squirrel.” She rubbed her still swollen eyelids, saying, “I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believe Jeremy saw me like this. Do my eyes look really bad?”

Tamisin patted her friend’s shoulder. “I’m sure he understands. I think Kyle said that Jeremy’s allergic to shellfish or something.”

“Is he really?” Heather asked, as if allergies were more acceptable if they were shared.

While her friend looked in her purse for another clean tissue, Tamisin watched the little raccoon man. She could hear him grumbling as he struggled to hold on to a too-thin branch that bobbed up and down under his weight. “I should never have told him that I’d come,” the man was saying. “One day I’m on the island, happy as a fly on dung, and the next I’m on a wild girl chase all over this goblin-forsaken town. ‘All ya gots to do is find the girl,’ he says. Easy for him to say. I should just go back and say no luck, couldn’t do it, unh unh. I would look truthful, too, so’s he gots to believe me. Or maybe not, considering it’s him….”

“Got one,” Heather said, holding up a tissue. She glanced at Tamisin and frowned. “What’s wrong? You have the funniest look on your face.”

Tamisin shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong. I just need to get home.”

“Me, too,” said Heather. “This is my last tissue.”

The rustling followed them from tree to tree. When they crossed the street, Tamisin heard a small thump as if something had hit the ground. Although she didn’t turn around to look, she could hear that the raccoon man was still right behind them. Her mind raced. What did the little man want? He was obviously following them, but why?

“Tamisin, did you hear what I said?” asked Heather. “I asked what you and Jeremy were talking about.”

“Not much,” Tamisin replied.

“He is so cute! He isn’t seeing anyone now, is he? Did he mention me at all before I got there?”

“Not really,” said Tamisin.

“What do you think of Jak? I saw the way he was looking at you. I think he likes you.”

Tamisin glanced at her friend. “He seems nice, and he is really hot, but there’s something a little odd about him. Did you see the way those cats acted?”

“That was weird.” Heather scrunched her nose and made a face. “Maybe he keeps a can of sardines in his pocket.”

“Maybe,” Tamisin replied, only half listening to her friend because the little man was talking again.

“‘Tobianthicus, ya gotta go!’ he told me with that
look in his eyes that didn’t give me no choice. ‘Ya know what she looks like. Them other folk are too scared to go, so it’s up to you.’ ‘But I don’t wanna,’ I says. ‘I was scared, too!’ ‘Too bad,’ says him. ‘Ya ain’t got a choice.’ “

As they neared Heather’s home, the trees were farther apart, and tall hedges divided one yard from the next. Now the rustling came from ground level as the raccoon goblin fought his way through the gaps in the bushes. Tamisin could hear him grumbling, “Life ain’t fair” as the girls stopped in front of Heather’s house.

“I’d ask you in,” said Heather, “but I’d better go wash up. Maybe some of this swelling will go down. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye,” said Tamisin. Although she wanted to go home, she hesitated, unsure if going straight there was such a good idea. Not knowing why this little goblin had been following them made her uneasy. Of course, he might have been following Heather, but she didn’t think so. Tamisin could still hear him in the shrubs behind her … Maybe she could lose him if she went home another way.

Turning in the opposite direction from her home, she strode quickly down the sidewalk, listening to make sure that the little man was following her. Tamisin was thinking of cutting through some backyards to lose him when the raccoon man encountered a crow. He must have gone too close to the bird’s nest, because the crow began berating him in its raucous voice.

“Oh, be off with ya!” the goblin screeched. “I don’t want yer lousy, rotten, stinky eggs!”

Tamisin stopped to glance up in the tree as the bird squawked, pecking at the little man. This was her chance. While the goblin fought off the crow, Tamisin circled back the way she’d come, right past the house where Rex the Great Dane lived. His owners had a big fenced-in yard that Rex guarded day and night. When he wasn’t barking at passing students, Tamisin could usually see him lying in front of his doghouse in the back corner of the yard.

As Tamisin approached the fence, she saw Rex stretched out on his side, sound asleep. Checking behind her, she spotted the goblin following her once more, so she climbed the fence as quietly as she could. When the dog didn’t open his eyes, she dropped down to the other side, glanced at him once again, and tiptoed across the yard. Almost as if she’d called to him, the goblin scurried over the fence. He was skulking at the base of a big maple when Tamisin scrambled back to the other side. Before the raccoon man could follow, she picked up a stone and threw it at Rex’s doghouse. Rex was on his feet in an instant, barking angrily in his deep, resonant voice.