Champions of Serenity :Gathering the Circle

Chapter Five

Debra jumped when Jamie suddenly appeared before her. Scowling at how little the fourteen-year-old had changed in the past four years of high school, Debra turned back to her book. Jamie took the book from Debra’s hands and shut it, not bothering to save the place.

“Hey!”

“It’s time, Debra. A thru L is supposed to go and get their caps and gowns. And although you don’t feel it’s a big deal, I, as the youngest member of the graduating class, do. Now get up and let’s go!”

Jamie pulled Debra into the stifling gymnasium and managed to somehow get them a place near the front of the line. Summer was still, officially, three weeks away, but the 100 degrees in the gym made liars of the weathermen who had predicted a mild day. And in less than three days, Debra Collins and Jamie Goodwin would be graduated seniors ready to face the world.

Debra hadn’t changed much. Her reddish brown hair was still thin and hung limply in a simple ponytail. And although she had seductive blue-hazel eyes, she never looked at anyone long enough for them to see that part of her. Jamie, on the other hand, had changed by leaps and bounds. She had gotten rid of her glasses and wore green tinged contacts and chopped her hair in a chic new style that was fast becoming the rage. With a few drama classes, Jamie had learned a stage presence that never seemed to leave her. But one thing hadn’t changed in four years; the two of them were still best friends.

“You know, I wish that they gave you a color choice in these robes. I would pick . . .”

“I know, Jamie, pink.”

Jamie looked at Debra and scowled.

“I know you don’t like the color, Debra, but I wish you wouldn’t make it sound like some kind of disease. I happen to love it.”

“I’m sorry, Jamie. You’re right.” Debra sighed and took the packaged gown of light blue and signed her name on the line next to the typed version of it. Then she was handed her cap and tassel. She waited behind the table for Jamie, and then both girls left the sweltering gym for the slightly cooler baking temperatures of the football field.

The seniors’ teachers were out in the middle of the field, slaving over table sized bar-b-ques and banquet tables full of condiments, chips, salads, drinks, and everything else needed for the senior picnic. If it wasn’t tradition, then most of the graduating class probably would have preferred pizza to hamburgers and hot dogs. But school tradition was hard to break. They did manage to get green salads on the menu to balance out the starch and fats of everything else offered.

Sitting on the blistering bleachers was the next trick on the list of senior day activities. Debra ended up sitting on her gown so she wouldn’t scald her legs. Jamie just plopped down, ignoring the heat. But then, Jamie always did prefer the heat to the cold, just the opposite of Debra.

Debra turned a gaze just as searing as the sun on Jamie, when Jamie bumped her elbow causing the tiny packet of ketchup to spray all over the tray instead of the bun. But Jamie didn’t seem to notice, her slack jawed attention was on two figures wading through the groups of seniors sitting along the bleachers and grass of the field.

“Why didn’t you tell me you invited friends to this, Deb?”

“What are you talking about, Jamie? What friends . . .”

A wave caught Debra’s eye and she looked, her own jaw going slack. Her tray slipped off of her knees and clattered through the bleachers to finally rest on the dust below them. Jamie muttered something about smooth move, but Deb didn’t hear it. She kept looking from one blond head to another, wondering how they knew.

The tall white-blond girl finally made it to where the two best friends sat. She smiled at them, then blinked and looked at her companion a moment in confusion before looking back.

“Debra? I’m Emily. Emily Hollingsworth.”

Darin waved a hand in front of Debra’s eyes and chuckled when she flinched. He rested his elbow on Emily’s shoulder and looked down into Debra’s shocked face.

“Well, Em, you never told me your pen pal was a human fish. I wonder if she has gills.”

Jamie giggled and winked at Darin just as he doubled over from getting his sister’s elbow in his stomach. The second tray joined the first in the dust as Jamie rolled with laughter at the sound of air rushing from Darin’s lungs. Many of the nearby groups of seniors looked over at Debra and those surrounding her and shook their heads in pity.

“Debra?”

Finally shaking off her shock, Debra tried to forget the fact that she was blushing more crimson than the blouse Jamie was wearing. She took a deep breath and wiped her hands on her shorts a minute.

“I’m sorry, Emily. I didn’t mean to stare, it’s just . . . I didn’t expect you.”

“I told you we should have let her know we were coming, Em.”

A chill ran up Debra’s spine at the soft voice of Darin. She found her eyes going back to his strong features and sun-gold hair more often than she was looking at Emily. When he winked at her, she blushed and pointedly looked away.

“This is stupid.” Jamie held out her hand. “I’m Jamie. And I don’t think Deb would get around to introducing us if I didn’t make her. You are her pen pal and . . .” She looked at Darin thoughtfully a moment. “Brother?”

Darin nodded and took Jamie’s hand. He gave his sister a mischievous grin and then kissed the back of Jamie’s hand. She dimpled, as was expected, and batted her eyelashes at him.

“Good grief. Now we have two hams.” Debra turned from Darin and Jamie and the impromptu melodrama romance scene to Emily. “How long do you get to stay?”

Emily shook her head and sat next to Debra as the two enjoyed the scene and ignored both the comments and glares of their companions. Turning her back to them, Emily smiled at Debra and relaxed.

“We are here for two weeks. Our parents are over at the hotel getting settled, but I talked Darin into bringing me over right now. I couldn’t wait to meet you.” Then on impulse, Emily hugged Debra, holding onto her as if she were her long lost sister.

Debra pulled back and looked at Emily, confused a moment about something she felt, but couldn’t understand.

Shægnek laughed. It was beginning. She hadn’t thought of having the First fall for the Wer, but it worked. It would make things all the more interesting when everything played out. And her little gift was also working, the First felt it, she knew yet didn’t know.

The Goddess hummed the tune she was working on. This little snippet would be one of the finest pieces ever heard by ear of man or god. The subtle undertones of mystery were hidden by the simplicity of discovery, another masterpiece in the collection of fate and whimsy.

“But now, we must add depth and darkness. Every birth must go through its pain. And just as giving birth requires near death, so would the First require it” Shægnek thought a moment, added a few notes to the musical score, then set the quill down. “But first, a few more themes need to be joined.”

Debra looked up at the sky, tilting her head as if listening.

“What is it, Deb?” The sudden seriousness in Jamie’s voice caught Emily and Darin’s attention. All three watched Debra as she held her pose.

“I don’t know. I can almost hear something.”

Darin moved closer, wrapping his hand around her arm. “What do you hear, Debra?” He had snuck into Emily’s room many times in the past two years to steal and read Debra’s letters to his sister. He probably knew this girl as well if not better than his sister and from her letters she sounded really good. Now that he was seeing her first hand, he was even more captivated than before. She wasn’t as stunningly beautiful as most of the people his father worked with, but her own quiet beauty was very easy to see. He hoped that maybe she would see something in him so that she would start writing him like she wrote his sister. Debra was probably the one girl who could hold his attention for more than a couple of weeks.

Startled, Debra lost the thread of the music and turned, finding herself face to face with Darin, his hand on her arm. She caught her breath, lost for a moment in panic. Then she pulled away from Darin’s hold and stood up.

Debra hadn’t ever dated; she hadn’t even had a boy interested in her before that she knew about. From her brother and his friends though, she knew she was nowhere near prime real estate when it came to the preferred female type. Sure, she had her share of crushes, but she never spoke of them to anyone but Jamie. Now that this stunningly good looking boy, and her pen pal’s big brother to boot, was watching her so closely, it made her more than a little nervous. In fact, if she were honest with herself, it scared her silly to think that some boy would actually start to pay attention to her. She wasn’t sure what to do or how to do it. The question she asked herself though is, did she want this attention or not, especially after dealing with Eric and his crew for so long.

Smiling at Darin and Emily, lightly touching Darin’s hand to let him know she wasn’t rejecting him, she started walking down the bleachers. “Let’s go. We can go to my place and get some better food than they are offering here.” Debra took the time walking down the bleachers to calm her rapidly beating heart. She decided that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Darin wanted to pay attention to her, she would just have to set the pace.

Shægnek laughed. This was better than she thought possible at the beginning. She silently thanked the Father for letting her have her special talents and jobs. This would be the greatest prophecy of them all.