Chapter Sixteen
Instead of going back to Alan’s, I suggested we take a walk. Being in Alan’s yard, near the pool, would only fan the fires of their flaring tempers.
An awkward silence descended upon us as we walked. I searched for the right, clever words to conjure up a smile. A joke. An insult. We enjoyed insulting one another. It was the kind of thing that always got us laughing—but not today. I talked about our favorite video games, about Conner getting the part of Atticus Finch in the fall play. Nothing worked.
Eventually, we wound up on Beverly Drive. It was just after three, and the mamas would be gathering over at Yo, Mama Hill. I suggested we go for a yogurt, and an ogle.
Not even a smile.
As we were nearing Yogurt Hill, a group of girls exited the shop, among them was Shannon Murphy. Shannon was tall, and a bit gawky, but she had a killer figure and killer smile. Alan had had a crush on her since the eighth grade.
“Shannon Murphy at twelve o’clock,” I murmured, nudging Alan in the side.
“So? What about her?”
“Dude, Shannon Murphy!” Conner exclaimed. “You’ve been wanting her to sit on your face for as long as I can member.”
Alan made sound of disgust at Conner’s lewd remark, “I got a girl,” he replied.
It had been three days since Alan had ventured past the three word limit with Alexia, and now he was claiming she was his girl. She really had a hold on him. I was certain it was the result of some kind of spell. It had to be.
Didn’t Lara have a hold on me?
Mine is different, I told myself. Mine is love, mutual and shared… which is why my girl told me I never want to see you again.
And the song played on.
“Sorry about cursing when we were at Alexia’s earlier,” Conner said. It was his first words of conciliation since we’d started walking. “It’s just that first we see the impossible—a creature in your swimming pool, and then we find out we need to kill it with something out of a fairytale. I mean, come on.”
I understood where Conner was coming from, and I was right there with him. The idea that there was an enchanted universe existing right alongside ours was hard to believe, and yet we both knew it was true.
“Sorry, bro, but to me, what you’re talking about doing seems fool hardy.” He gazed at Alan, his expression softening.
With Conner’s apology, I felt the cloud of tension begin to lift.
“Fool hardy for who?” Alan asked. There was an edge to his voice, and the cloud settled back over us.
I didn’t like taking sides, but I had to agree with Conner. I had the feeling Roxanne wasn’t giving us the whole truth about killing the Lycorian, that there was an important piece of information she had chosen to leave out.
“I’m not trying to be a jerk, Alan, but are we really going to fight a creature?” Conner asked. “Us? We’re not athletic. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been in a fight since the third grade, and that was with a girl, a very little girl, and I lost! This is not World of Warcraft—which I suck at, by the way—this is real.”
Conner’s words seemed to have an effect on Alan. He nodded. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have volunteered you.” His chest heaved in a deep sigh. “But I have to do this.”
“I know you do. But I don’t,” Conner said.
We reached the front of the yogurt shop.
“If they have Sinfully Chocolate and Peanut butter, I’m getting them swirled,” I said.
Alan eyed Conner thoughtfully. “It’s all right. We’re still boys.” A small smile appeared on his lips.
“No doubt,” Conner replied.
They moved in for a man hug.
“Me and Josh will take care of the creature,” Alan said when they drew apart.
And like that synchronized swim move exhibited in Alan’s backyard a few days earlier, all eyes moved to me.
I offered up a guilty smile. “What are you guys having?”
Truth be told, I wanted no part of the creature in Alan’s pool. Wasn’t this a Nereid problem? I felt I should tell Eudora, and let Petros and Rive come and deal with it.
Alan and Conner had no idea of the existence of water nymphs or the satyrs who defended them, but I did. Perhaps it was time to bring in an expert.
I also thought that if the Duprees moved back up to the Applegate fortress, as Alexia had originally suggested, the creature would eventually realize his tasty meal was no longer available, and leave.
I formulated a plan. Alan was my best friend. I couldn’t let him face the creature alone—that would be like signing his death warrant. So I needed to stall. If I could get him to wait a few days, Alexia might be able to convince her mother it was too dangerous for them to stay. Once the Duprees moved out of the house, our problem would be solved.
I decided to go along with whatever Alan said, and hope something would happen in the next few days to keep us from having to battle the Lycorian to the death… ours, no doubt.
“We should go to the sporting goods store and buy spear guns,” Alan said.
He was hyped about killing the creature. He went on and on about the exotic ways he could kill it all the way back home. He made it sound as though we were planning a boss fight in a video game.
“Hey Butterball, how were you so sure Roxanne and Alexia knew about the creature?” Conner asked.
I looked around for butterflies. All clear.
“I can’t tell you guys just yet. Go along with me for a few more days, and all will be revealed,” I said in a mock-ominous TV voice. I was using the voice to make light of a very serious situation.
“Sure, man, whatever you say. We’re in this together no matter what,” Alan said. He was smiling at me. I’d seen that smile before, filled with shared trust and mutual respect.
At that moment, the weirdest thing happened, the song that had been playing in my head turned sad. I’d gotten used to the song that was always there, treating like background noise. The change, however, forced me to pay attention as the lilting notes became low and dirge-like. It was as if the music knew I was heading down a path of no return.
Before we parted, Alan told us he was going to stay up all night monitoring the footage of the rear deck. He said, if the light came on, he was going to go into the kitchen and grab a few ginsu knives, then spring out onto the deck like a ninja.
“I’ll roll out there like a whirling dervish of raw steel. If I don’t kill him, betcha I at least cut him good.”
Conner and I exchanged worried glances.
We eventually talked him out of becoming a whirling dervish of raw steel, and into turning on the kitchen light, if the infrared out on the deck came on.
“Remember, we’ve got to do this together,” I told him.
“Oh, yeah. You and me, we’re the Legion of Doom. We’re gonna tag team that creature’s behind,” Alan said, and gave a primal scream.
I again eyed Conner. Our friend had gone from video games to supervillain tag team wrestling. The good news was it was sounding as if he wouldn’t be doing any creature wrestling without me—at least, not for the night.
When I got home, I was surprised to find our house filled with the delicious fragrance of home cooking. My mother was in the kitchen, preparing dinner for us all to sit down to together as a family.
“I’m glad you’re home. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes,” she called, looking up momentarily from the stove. “Clean yourself up now.”
“We having company?”
“No. Just us,” she replied.
I went down the hall to Troy’s room. He was lying on the bed, still in his Best Buy work shirt.
“What’s up with, Mom? We only sit down together for dinner on holidays.”
“For her, it is a holiday. She’s happy about what you did for Dad,” he said. He sat up. “So, you’re dating a rich girl, huh?”
I nodded. The mention of Lara was another reminder of the sad version of the song playing in the background.
“Tell me about her?” he slid to the edge of the bed.
“She’s all right.” I came and sat down next to him.
“You remember everything I taught you?”
“Yep.” I smiled and winked at him before he got the chance to wink at me.
“That’s my baby bro,” he said. He grabbed me around the head in a playful headlock and gave me a noogie.
When I was little, Troy’s noogies annoyed me to no end. This noogie, however, gave me a warm feeling inside. It was like a slice of hot apple pie during the holidays. You didn’t realize how delicious it was, and how much you missed it until you had that first taste.
Dad was unusually chatty at dinner. He described the Applegate fortress in great detail, and told the family how warm and gracious Eudora Applegate had been.
“I still haven’t met Josh’s young lady yet, although he did sneak off to see her this morning,” he said. He looked at me across the table and I knew what was coming. Yep. He winked at me.
“You’re so secretive,” Mom said. Her eyes were shining. It was the happiest I’d seen my parents in many years.
If only you knew the half of it, Mom. If only you knew.
After dinner, Dad, helped Mom load the dishwasher. They were laughing together as I exited the kitchen. I made the excuse of having some summer reading to catch up on, and headed off to my room to think. I had a lot to think about: winning Lara back, getting the creature out of Alan’s pool without having to do battle with it, and Eudora’s threat that still hung over our heads like the Sword of Damocles (if you’re keeping score, that’s footnote #2—Not!).
I entered my room, and through the darkness, I saw a figure seated on the edge of my bed. My breath caught as her green eyes twinkled in the darkness. It was Lara.