Champions of Serenity :Gathering the Circle

Chapter Two

Jared looked up at a small moldy patch on the ceiling of the tent, his hands behind his head as he lay on the cot. A ray of sun filled with the dancing motes of dust fell on his left foot, warming it. Summer camp was almost over and it would be time to get back real life and the drama of his mom’s divorce. He hoped that it would be over before he got home. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Kyle, but he didn’t like how it hurt his mother to have to lose Brian and Josh, his two half-brothers.

Jared’s own father died when Jared was just a baby. All he knew of his father was that he was Italian and had met his mother while they were attending UCLA. Everyone said he looked like his dad, but without the temper. Jared guessed he really didn’t want to know his dad if he were as bad as everyone said.

Then when he was five, his mom married Kyle. Kyle was a good man who was as blond and blue-eyed as his mom. Together they had Brian and Josh, two wonderful kids. But then two years ago, Kyle went on a business trip to New York with a couple of co-workers. He ended up having an affair with one of the women. When Jackie, Jared’s mom found out, she kicked him out and the divorce papers started flying. Jared felt sorry for Brian and Josh, they were caught up in the middle of it and it looked like they would be going with Kyle instead of staying with Jackie. The judge decided that the private school Kyle had chosen for them and would pay for could provide a better lifestyle for them. The judge also ordered Kyle to pay alimony to Jackie as they would have joint custody, he would just have physical custody during the school year and Jackie during the summer. Jared was still trying to figure out how he felt about the whole thing.

The door flap was pulled aside by a tall blond. Ducking his head Grant entered the tent, and fell heavily onto the cot across from Jared’s. He looked over at his dark friend for a few silent moments. Lifting himself up onto his elbow, he shook his head “Jared, are you still bummed out over the divorce? You can’t do anything about it, any more than I can do anything about having to return to Europe with my folks. And besides, it’s boring just sitting here watching you brood. The sun is shining, the boys are swimming and we have a whole hour before we must round them up and have the final cabin check. After that, their parents will be here for “parent’s night” and we have until 10 off. So, let’s plot to dig up some fun.”

Jared rolled over onto his side and looked at Grant. He studied the laughing green eyes and perfect tan with something between disgust and amusement. “What’s it like? Not having a care in the world except for where the next party is?” Both boys were sixteen this summer and had spent the time as camp counselors in a “get-back-to-nature” camp in western Washington.

When the two had first met a little more than two months ago, they had been a bit stand offish. Jared had come to the camp to get away from the nasty divorce and wasn’t in a good frame of mind to make friends. He just wanted to spend time with kids who weren’t his brothers and wouldn’t remind him of the pain back home.

Grant had come to the camp to have something he thought of as a normal teenage experience. He spent most of his time traveling from one place to another with his parents. He didn’t know what it was like to live in one place longer than six months and have any long lasting friendships. He wanted and hoped to find someone he could become best friends with.

Richard and Marie Thomas, Grant’s parents, were both in the world of high fashion. He was a photographer and she was a freelance writer for several prominent fashion magazines. Both were in high demand in their fields and so traveled around the world to fulfill their jobs. Grant was their only child and they doted on him, giving him the best in tutors and experiences as he grew up. The one thing they couldn’t give him without giving up being with him was roots. Grant craved a lifestyle that would allow him to spend a long time in one place, make friends, and find a best friend and a girlfriend. For all that he did some time as a teenage model for his dad; Grant really didn’t like the lifestyle of the fashion world.

Grant’s parents understood their son’s longing more than he gave them credit for. But they just couldn’t picture a life without their tall and handsome son by their side. So when he asked for this one summer to have the camp experience, as a counselor, they allowed it to happen and hoped he would be happy with it.

When the counselor assignments were given out the first day and Grant and Jared were teamed up, neither one were all that excited about it. Jared thought Grant was a grandstander, always looking for the spotlight and Grant thought Jared was a drama queen, always looking for the attention. It took almost a week before they said anything to each other.

Then Jared tripped and sprained his ankle and Grant waited for him to start whining. Jared sat up, took off his shoe and sock and bound up his ankle with his sock and limped off to the nurse, cursing his own clumsiness. Grant was intrigued and followed, offering his arm when it looked like the path was a little too much for the dark haired boy.

After that afternoon, they started a tentative friendship that grew over the weeks. Then a couple of weeks ago, one of the female counselors was overheard complaining that Grant and Jared seemed more interested making friends with the kids than in dating the other counselors. The two of them found out about this and their talking about that further solidified their friendship. For the first time, Grant felt like he had a best friend and Jared felt he had someone who completely understood him.

“Hey, that’s not fair, Jared. Do you think it’s easy traveling your whole life with parents who don’t believe in roots longer than six months? That’s why I am here this summer. I didn’t want to spend it jet setting over South America this year. I am tired of never being able to have best friends, of never having a real school to go to, of never feeling like you quite belong. So, yeah, I hide the fact I’m a homebody from everyone by always thinking about the next party. But let me tell you, Jared, I would snap up the chance to have a real home so fast it would make your head swim. You know this.”

Jared thought about it, his dark eyes seeming to see something not in the tent shared by the boys. He knew Grant didn’t like the party lifestyle, but he also knew that Grant had a happy-go-lucky personality; something he himself missed when he was home with Jackie. The idea hit him like a baseball bat to the gut and he looked up at Grant again. “And if it were offered . . . what would your parents say?”

Grant rolled over onto his back and looked up at the patch of black on the tent ceiling that grew with each rain. The question stung. It was something he always dreamed about but knew he wouldn’t have until he was old enough to be on his own. He seemed to shrug at the question. “I think that our mold is about to spore. Perhaps we should gather a sample of it to show the boys. Maybe one or two will actually like science after we tell them all about it.”

“You are evading the question, Grant.”

“You are damn right I am evading it, Jared.” There was a trace of pain in his voice. “I don’t know what they will say or do. The situation has never presented itself to me or them. So why bother even thinking about it.”

“I’m offering it, Grant. With Kyle and the boys gone, it will just be mom and me. I wouldn’t mind having a brother of my own age there with me. And I know mom would love to have you, she will miss not having someone to take care of.” Jared’s voice was soft and sincere.

For a moment, neither boy could breathe. Then they locked eyes and a smile grew between them. Jared sat up just as Grant did and they faced each other over the narrow walkway between them.

“How would it work, Jer?” Grant allowed his eagerness to spill into his voice. The thought of not just having a permanent address, but sharing that address with his best friend was more than Grant had ever allowed himself to dream about.

“Simple, Grant. You move in with Jackie and me, have your parents sign something that says my mom can authorize stuff for you, like school and doctors and stuff. And voila, you are in.” Jared was getting more and more excited about the idea himself. He didn’t particularly want to have his mom go through a long grieving process with Brian and Josh gone and having Grant around to care for would help his mom as much as it would help Grant. Besides, he liked having someone around who could help with the icky chores like empting the garbage and cleaning out the garage.

Grant stood and paced a moment, his hand resting on his chin. In his mind, he worked out the details, trying to find any loophole. Then he turned to Jared. “Okay, but we have to be careful with the timing. Is your mom coming tonight?

Jared nodded and so did Grant. “We can prep them tonight, Grant. And then, next week, when camp is over, we can ask them. What do you think? Want to be my brother?”

“Will I have to do dishes and take out garbage and dust and vacuum and junk like that?” When Jared nodded, Grant grinned. “Good. Then, as long as I don’t have to do the mushy stuff like the ‘Good-night Jim-boy and Billy-bob and whatever the heck the names were’, I am cool with it.”

Just then the bell sounded for the counselors to meet their groups and get them ready for parents’ night. Jared and Grant jumped to their feet and ran to meet their group of boys. On the way, many of the girl counselors waved at them and rushed to walk with them to meet the laughing groups of children. The two of them were very popular with the girls for very different reasons. Grant, with his sunny smile, easy laughter, and 6′7 height was a flirt. And Jared had this way of looking at you with his dark eyes that made you want to tell him your whole life story while running your fingers through his soft black hair. They were as opposite as night and day, and yet, they belonged together as surely as two sides of one coin.

Shægnek watched the two boys and laughed. On the other side of the state, the First and her heart-sister were comparing notes on teachers for their second year at high school together. It amazed the goddess that they couldn’t already begin to feel each other. Then she realized that unless she took a hand in it, they might not ever feel each other, and that wouldn’t be fun.

Working on a loom this time, Shægnek wove some crimson and amethystthreads into a back ground of midnight blue. A few pink threads were intertwined with azure and a picture began to take shape, the field of stars shown in glorious hues in the crown of a Goddess. At the feet of the Goddess was a double circle which mirrored the stars in her crown. The face of the Goddess was hidden by the shadows of night, yet was illuminated with the stars.

The silent hissing of breath over an ebony thread, made it shimmer to cinnamon was enough for Shægnek’s pleasure. Now, the group would begin to feel a tug and those that would feel it the strongest would be the hardest to convince. Chaos would be pleased with this weaving. The dark colors showed the foreboding while the illumination gave a hint of something yet to come.