Calling the Shots (2 page)

Then for the third and final time, my heavenly surroundings dropped away. This time all my resistance had gone. This time I longed to go where the mysterious force wanted to take me. This time the force and I were like,
one
.

I floated through the glittering void in total awe. I swooshed through pearly swirls of new-born galaxies, past silent planets crusted with ice and hot hyperactive planets spewing out rainbow-coloured gases. Finally I saw Earth far below, with its shimmery blue oceans and jewel-green forests. And then across time and space, I heard someone calling to me.

“Who
are
you?” I whispered. “What do you want?”

Then that mysterious cosmic elastic twanged me back into the classroom. I must have fainted at some point, because Miss Dove had pushed my head down between my knees and all the little angels were gazing at me with fascinated expressions.

Omigosh, I’m really ill
, I panicked.
I’ve caught some rare cosmic disease that no-one’s ever heard of
.

For some reason Miss Dove was beaming down at me, almost as if my weird fainting spell was like, an Oscar-winning achievement. “It is disturbing the first time you get the Call,” she said calmly. “But you get used to it.”

“The Call?” I quavered.

She gave me a warm smile. “You’d better run along, Melanie. The Agency will be wanting to brief you before you leave.”

I seemed to have turned into Miss Dove’s little echo. “Leave?” I repeated in bewilderment. “Where am I going?”

“Tell her, someone!” said Miss Dove.

A little boy stepped forward. “Someone on Earth needs a guardian angel, Melanie,” he said shyly. “And there’s assolutely NO time to lose.”

Chapter Two

I
had been at the Angel Academy over three terms now. If I had to, I could find my way around blindfold. I was equally at home off-campus. I could tell you where to go for the ultimate breakfast (Guru, obviously), the coolest place to go dancing (the Babylon Cafe) and the place to find that very special outfit (the Source).

Yet I was so ignorant of the basics of angel existence, that I had mistaken a completely natural cosmic phenomenon for an imaginary disease!

“You have got to finish reading that Angel Handbook, Melanie,” I scolded myself, as I headed into town. “You are a total disgrace.”

But I have to admit I was secretly thrilled. I had always wanted to be a guardian angel. OK, that’s not strictly true. Back on Earth, I was desperate to be rich and famous. But when I died the rich and famous scenario became kind of, you know,
redundant
, and my guardian angel fantasy gradually took over.

I’d never told anyone, obviously. The training takes
aeons
, and anyway, I’d look a real twit if it didn’t happen. I think I mentioned that I was not exactly a big success at my old school? My teacher, Miss Rowntree, thought I was a complete ditz. “An airhead with attitude,” she called me once.

Luckily I didn’t need to worry about Miss Rowntree’s opinion any more. I started to dance along the street. “I’m an angel!” I sang out. “A real, live, bona fide angel. I got the Call. Woo-hoo! I got the Call!”

I recognised a familiar figure up ahead; a honey-coloured boy in faded cut-offs. Tiny dreads whipped around his head as he hurried downtown. It’s Wednesday, how come Reuben isn’t doing martial arts? I thought. Then I got it!

“Hey, wait for me!” I ran to catch him up. “You got the Call, didn’t you?” I panted. “That’s why you were being so weird in school.”

Reuben’s eyes opened wide. “You mean you…?”

“I thought I was going nuts!” I admitted. “I had this spooky song going round my head.”

“Hey! I’m supposed to be the hotshot DJ,” he objected. “Why didn’t I get a song?”

“Do you think anyone else—” I began.

I heard footsteps flying along behind us. “You might have waited, you monsters!” Lola gasped.

“This is SO sublime,” I breathed. All three of us had been Called.

Lollie looked guilty. “Boo, about this morning -I’d had a really weird night and I—”

“Forget it,” I grinned. “Everyone stresses out the first time, Miss Dove says.”

“This
is
happening, right? I’m not just dreaming I’m going to be a guardian angel?” Reuben was in a daze of happiness.

Lola patted his back, laughing. “It’s happening, Sweetpea!”

“I can’t take it in,” he burbled. “I’d never even been to Earth until last term. Now I’m going solo.”

My stomach totally looped the loop, as Reuben’s words went echoing hollowly round my brain.
Going solo, going solo
…

I mean, I was still really honoured and everything. I simply hadn’t expected to be doing the full-on guardian angel thing so soon. In my guardian angel fantasies I’d been calmer, wiser and well,
older
.

We had almost reached the Agency building. In a city of gorgeous buildings it’s still a major landmark; a soaring skyscraper built from some special celestial glass which constantly changes colour, almost as if it’s alive. We turned the corner as the building was turning from shimmery hyacinth to a sparkling cornflower blue.

My eyes still felt dazzled as I followed the others through the revolving doors. The guy at the desk waved us towards the lifts without even glancing at our ID.

“That’s a first,” Lola whispered.

A scary first
, I thought.
This is how they treat grown-up agents
.

We made our way to the hall where we have our briefing sessions. To my surprise it was packed with angel trainees, including Amber, a girl from our class, and Reuben’s mate Chase (the angel kid who hangs out with tigers). I’d been congratulating myself on breaking into some cosmic elite. But apparently angel trainees were being ‘called’ constantly. I just hadn’t known about it.

Amber waved and we went to sit with her and Tiger Boy.

A bunch of junior agents came in. “Michael says sorry to keep you, but he’s on his way,” one said apologetically.

Chase grinned. “Must be having trouble with your century again, Mel.”

“There are other centuries, you know,” I said huffily.

We started chatting amongst ourselves. It turned out we’d all been freaked by our first experience of the Call.

“It just seemed way too huge,” Amber confessed.

“I know,” I said eagerly. “You think no-one else could possibly understand.”

Michael arrived at last and everyone instantly stopped talking. Michael is our headmaster, but if you’re picturing an old buffer with elbow patches, forget it. He’s an archangel, one of the advanced beings who help to keep the cosmos running smoothly, plus he’s a major player at the Agency.

From the outside, he’s just a big tired guy in a crumpled suit. But as he scanned along the rows of trainees, his eyes met mine and I shivered with awe. Even in that crowded hall, Michael knew exactly where I was. If he wanted to, he could see right into my soul.

His voice was humorous and matter-of-fact. “No doubt you’re all wondering why your teachers didn’t warn you about your recent ordeal?”

“Don’t say it! ‘Some things can’t be explained in words’, wah wah wah,” Lola called out cheekily.

Michael smiled. “Precisely, Miss Sanchez, they have to be experienced. For a short time each of you felt confused and alone. You couldn’t understand how such a thing could occur in Heaven. You worried that you were imagining it, or what’s the phrase, ‘losing it’?”

“Boy did I lose it,” muttered Reuben. “I could hear creaking sails and ocean waves.”

“I got thundering hooves,” Lola hissed. “Anyone else get that?”

“I just got a bizarre little song,” I hissed back.

There was a buzz of voices as trainees eagerly swapped strange supernatural experiences.

Michael just waited and gradually everyone became quiet again. “Some of you may even have decided you must be in the wrong business,” he went on. “After all, real angels never ‘lose it’, do they? Real angels are unfailingly beautiful, calm and serene and know all the answers. Isn’t that right?”

“Well, yeah,” said someone.

“Rubbish!” said Michael cheerfully. “An angel who has never experienced a moment’s doubt, an angel who never made a mistake, or was never ever tempted to tell a lie, would not be suitable for guardian angel training.”

I sat up.
Wow
, I thought,
I am SO suitable!

“Your experiences were actually proof that you are becoming ready to watch over a human being - with appropriate supervision, of course,” Michael added, smiling.

My hands suddenly went cold and clammy. “But this isn’t like, our own personal human, right? I mean, we still have to work in a team ?” I asked him.

Michael shook his head. “Guardian angels work strictly one to one.”

“But you’re always banging on about team work,” I blustered. ‘“No stars or heroes’. Isn’t that what you’re always saying?”

“That’s exactly what I’m always saying,” he agreed calmly. “I’m delighted it’s finally sinking in.”

But I was not in the mood to be teased. “So - so how come you’ve changed the rules?” I stuttered. “How come it’s suddenly about going to Earth all on your own, and babysitting some human stranger single-handed? Not to mention, ooh, protecting them from the Powers of Darkness! Frankly I don’t think anyone in this hall is ready for that much responsibility.”

Michael sensibly ignored my drama-queen tactics. “No-one ever
feels
ready,” he said firmly. “Rather, angels
become
ready, by taking risks, by trusting that we will receive the help we need, exactly when we need it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh yeah, the Angel Link, how could I forget? Have you actually tried to access the Link on Earth with the PODS, erm, I mean, the Opposition, breathing down your neck?”

“Many times,” he said quietly, “which is why we’re issuing you all with these.”

A junior agent stepped forward. Without a hint of a smile he held up a dinky cosmic mobile phone. In a bored voice, he began to demonstrate its various functions, which I have to admit were quite impressive. Funnily enough, having something technical to concentrate on, helped to calm me down. I didn’t exactly stop being scared, but my panic definitely subsided into the background.

It was early evening by the time we left the Agency Tower. We were being sent off on our separate missions early next day. None of us felt like going back to school, so we stopped off at Guru.

Lola and I were too nervous to eat an actual meal, so we just ordered smoothies. But when our order came, Mo unloaded heaps of goodies from his tray. “You’ll need more than smoothies where you’re going,” he said firmly.

All the other customers were smiling at us and I went totally hot all over. That’s one thing about Heaven I don’t think I’ll ever get used to. EVERYONE knows your private business!

It didn’t help that Orlando was sitting at the next table. Orlando literally looks like an old-style angel, the dark eyed kind you see in medieval Italian paintings. He’s also the school genius. Unfortunately I only tend to run into him when I’m breaking some major cosmic law which doesn’t exactly do me any favours.

With a little help from the boys, Lola and I eventually managed to demolish most of Mo’s tasty titbits. I was going to ask her if she fancied sharing some of Guru’s special passion-fruit pudding, when my surroundings started going all flickery and out of focus. I tried to blink these unwanted visual effects away but it got worse. I thought I must be getting some kind of weird angel migraine so I decided to call it a night.

“Have fun tomorrow, you guys!” I told my mates. “Miss you already,” I whispered to Lola.

I meant it. I felt as if part of me was already steadily drifting away from her, like a kite with a broken string.

I closed the door to the cafe and the voices and laughter faded behind me.

From now on, it’s just you and the cosmos, Mel
, I told myself, swallowing.

I heard the door open behind me. Someone came out and I went tingly all over.

“Mind if I walk back with you?” Orlando asked.

I gave him my coolest shrug. “If you want.”

He peered up at the sky where the sunset had left streaks of tawny gold.

“Feels like trying to watch two movies at once, doesn’t it?” he commented sympathetically.

I was stunned. “How did you know?”

“It’s a side-effect of GA work. You’ve become tuned to your human’s wavelength. That’s how you heard the Call. Now the vibes of his or her time and place are all mixed up with your reality.”

“No wonder I feel so spaced,” I breathed.

With humungous concentration, I just about managed to ignore my flickery visual disturbances and walk in a more or less straight line.

“So, have you done much, um, GA work?” I said, as if I habitually talked in initials.

“About four modules now.”

I flashed him a cautious smile. “So if I pass this module, you know, without breaking any cosmic laws…”

“Like whacking a world-famous playwright,” he grinned.

“Hey,” I said. “How was I to know it was William Shakespeare? Like I was saying, if I get through the first module without a major screw-up, they’ll give me tougher GA assignments, right? Is that it?”