Circumstellar (2 page)

N
ormally when a student was late, it was custom to at least go to class and try to convince the teacher to let it slide before being pointed down the hall of disappointment. As for me, well, I’d been late enough times now to just skip that first step and proceed right to the doom chamber. Why fight fate? And it seemed my friends accepted my expertise in the matter as they followed my lead unquestionably. We were journeying on our way down the currently deserted halls when we stumbled upon one of my favorite peers. Oh, I think they call that sarcasm.

“Well, well. Callahan, I didn’t expect to see you making your way to
Ol’ Dipper this early. And Lesia, what a
sweet
surprise. If you need any help finding the way, I’d be happy to take you. You probably won’t have any trouble, though. Fahrenheit here’s a regular.” 

“
Fairheit,” I hissed though clenched teeth. “But thanks for the vote of confidence. It really means something coming from you, Becky.” I’ll admit watching Caden Beck turn bright red while his eyes tried to sear my soul gave me more pleasure than it should have. I hated this guy, all the way from his bleached mullet and beady eyes to his rotten personality. He was bully through and through, all right. To make matters worse, if he wasn’t handing out wedgies and swirlies to the unfortunate, he was making passes and lewd comments to Lesia. That’s what really burned me up about this guy. And that’s why I put my fist into his face last fall.

I stood ready while his face contorted in anger. “What did I tell you about calling me that? I’ll show you, stupid bitch!”

All I saw at that moment was a flash of black, and my view of Becky was blocked. It took me a second to register that someone was standing in front of me. I didn’t have to ponder who for long. The hair was a dead giveaway.

“Listen, you really need to learn some manners. Do you think it’s a good idea to talk to my friends that way?” Ty’s voice was calm, but there was a dark seriousness to it that caught me off guard. It wasn’t totally threatening, but it wasn’t non-threatening, if that makes any sense. As I peaked around, it wasn’t hard to imagine why Becky had that shocked look on his face. Ty was the cheerful good guy everyone liked to hang around with. Some of his antics even managed to get the stony-faced teachers to crack a smile. But here in front of us now was a side of Ty I hadn’t seen in a long time. He was intimidating, and in the quickest flash he appeared, he vanished.

“So, I think we can all agree that this matter is over and can continue on with our business, right guys?” Ty turned and threw a smile over his shoulder.

“Yeah.”
I gasped, remembering to breathe. “Becky’s free to go on his miserable way.” I expected another rage fueled dig, but Becky just nodded dumbly and started stumbling down the hall.

“Whatever, Callahan.
I, uh . . . better things . . . go,” he stammered out, the look of shock still very clear on his face.

“That was weird,” I concluded as he lumbered around the corner. “But thanks, Ty. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, I did. Like I said, nobody talks to my friends like that,” he said, determined. “But I sure hope Ursa’s in a good mood. We’re already missing first period. Oh, English, how I regret not being there with you. Now I’ll never become a writer thanks to Ingrid’s throwing arm,” he finished with a flare that would make any drama queen proud.

“Oh, it really is getting late. We should hurry before we miss too much,”
Lesia added, grabbing our arms and speed walking down the hall. I actually felt kind of bad. This was the first time Lesia was going to get into trouble for being tardy. Or for anything, really.

“Sorry, guys.” I sighed.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re friends, after all. That’s why I said I’m going to buy you a new clock,” Lesia replied, a sly twinkle in her eyes. “That way you can be a friend and help me out by not dragging me down.”

“Good one,
Lesia!” Ty chuckled. Although it was a direct jab at me, even I had to laugh a little. Lesia joined in, and soon we were the merriest bunch that ever made its way to Ursa’s lair, brief as it may have been. The office door loomed in front of us like a steel trap. We straightened ourselves out – putting on our most serious faces – and entered.

“Morning, Tania. How’re the kids?” I asked, throwing a grin to the secretary and receiving a pointed look in return. She raised an eyebrow, directing her pen to the principal’s door. And here I thought we had really gotten to know each other over these past seven weeks. We came up to the door, the words
Principal Ursa Dipper
printed in bright gold letters across the top half. I didn’t waste any time in knocking and waited for the muffled “Come in” before, you guessed it, going in.

“Ah, Miss
Fairheit, I was beginning to wonder if you fell ill this morning. You’re a little later than usual,” Principal Dipper stated, “and you’ve brought friends, too. Miss Delaney. Mr. Callahan.” She nodded to each of us as she spoke. Used to the routine by now, I went ahead and took a seat in front of the desk. When I noticed my companions standing awkwardly by the door, I waved them over. After a moment’s hesitation and a quick look at Principal Dipper, who once again nodded, Ty and Lesia finally walked over and took the two chairs beside me. I wondered if she often got troublemakers in sets of three, or perhaps, a lot of meetings with parents and their wayward kids, which would explain why she had the odd number across from her desk.

Once we were seated, she fixed her framed gaze on us, and if anything,
those thick lens only intensified the effect. Her thinning gray hair was pulled into a tight bun held by a band of navy beads that perfectly matched her fine business suit. According to legend, she’d been principal long enough to know most of students’ grandparents, and it showed in her lined and withered face. Those passing her on the street might mistake her for someone’s kind old grandma, but her eyes told another story. She was a sharp old bird, I’d give her that. Stern, but fair. I could see it clearly in those stone gray irises: experience, awareness, and even a little compassion from time to time. My eyes were always the first thing anyone ever noticed about me, so it only made sense it was the first thing I looked at on another person. Principal Dipper’s eyes didn’t lie. She was exactly who she displayed herself as. That’s why I respected her so much.

“I figured the usual routine was beginning to get old, so I decided to mix it up a bit. You know, keep you on your toes,” I said with a small smile. You’d think I was doing her a big favor.

“Indeed. Well, as much as I appreciate your efforts to keep me mentally stimulated, I’m afraid that being tardy without an excuse is still against school policy. Once again, you’ll be cleaning the science lab after class. At least you have help today. Any other comments, Miss Fairheit?” She looked at me expectantly before I shook my head in the negative.

“Principal Dipper, I want to start out by saying how simply marvelous you look today,” Ty chipped in. A last ditch effort to avoid punishment no doubt.
“Very, uh, crisp and businesslike.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Callahan. I do strive to set an example, although,” Principal Dipper began, taking in Ty’s and my appearances, “some of you could use a little more practice with an iron.”

It was true. Ty’s clothes looked like they had been wadded in the same small, dark space as mine, but he actually remembered the tie. Looking at Lesia, I saw her uniform was as perfect and pressed as Principal Dipper’s suit. It made for a stark contrast between us. Then again, Ty and I didn’t have mothers to do our laundry for us.

Ty let out an awkward laugh. “Ha, yes, I know. I’m still working on it. But my dad’s always in a rush, you know, and he, uh, accidently grabbed my keys on his way out. I didn’t want to leave the house unlocked, so I called him and waited for him to, um, send them.”

I raised an eyebrow at Ty’s explanation. So much for the hormonal girls excuse. I didn’t doubt the story was true, actually. I knew he didn’t like to talk about his home life, and this was far from the cool, confident explanation I was expecting. I was a little surprised he’d even brought it up. Perhaps, like me, Ty respected Principal Dipper too much to try the smartass lie routine. That or he really didn’t like the science lab.

“Hmm, very well, Mr. Callahan.”
No way,
I thought
. “
This once, and just this once, I shall excuse you. Don’t let it happen again,” Principal Dipper warned in her strict manner. “Now, you and Miss Delaney are to report back to class. I would like a word with Miss Fairheit.”

Ty didn’t waste any time in leaving the room before the principal could change her mind about his pardon.
Lesia, who had been so quiet throughout the whole ordeal, sent me a questioning look with her eyes before exiting the room. It was just me and Ursa.

We looked at each other, neither saying anything for a minute. She
pursed her lips and set her gray orbs on me.

“Ingrid,” she began in a voice so soft I wouldn’t have believed was hers had her lips not been moving, “I know it’s hard. You have to take care of yourself and,” she paused as if debating if she should finish, “take care of your aunt.” I steeled myself, wondering where this was going. “You have a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders. It’s difficult having to be the adult when you’re still a child. It was for me, too.” Trying to escape her gaze, I looked down at my lap. My stomach started twisting in shame and embarrassment. Unfortunately for me, she wasn’t finished. “You have a lot to
deal with
, but if you just applied yourself a little more, you could do so well. I’ve spoken with your teachers. They think you have a lot of potential, if only you would put more effort into your work. I believe that, as well.”

I refused to raise my eyes from my lap, fearing if I looked up the tears would come and I wouldn’t be able to stop them. Why was she bringing this up? I didn’t want to talk about this. Not to her. Not to anyone. I didn’t want to be pitied. As I sat in my thoughts, I realized I didn’t want to disappoint, either.

“Ingrid, I don’t mean to upset you. I just want you to know that we understand and that we,” she paused again, her voice barely a whisper, “that
I
know you are a very special girl. I see you doing great things in the future.”

I finally raised my head, my glassy purple eyes looking at her face. It may have been a trick of the light, but for the first time, I saw a small smile gracing her stern fa
ce. I looked behind those thick-rimmed glasses and saw in her eyes that small glint of compassion she liked to hide. I also saw the truth she held behind her words.

“Thank you, Principal Dipper. I’ll try harder. I promise,” I said – truthfully – while rising to my feet. “But I’m really late for class. First period’s almost over.”

It only took a fraction of a second and the kind old lady was replaced by the no-nonsense administer. In a way, I was relieved. This was a person I knew how to handle.

“Very well, Miss
Fairheit. Report to class and don’t forget to do your punishment this afternoon. As much as I enjoy the morning company, I don’t want to have this conversation . . . again.”

“Oh, you won’t,” I said as I grabbed my bag and left the room. I breathed a sigh of relief as I entered the hall and rushed to catch the last five minutes of English. I was so glad that was over, but in the back of my mind, I felt a little lighter. After all these years of being a “troubled teen,” it was good to have someone finally believe in me.

The rest of the day wasn’t very eventful: the same old teachers teaching the same old subjects, the same girls gossiping over some cute new surfing champion, and the same guys arguing over football. There was one notable exception, and that was me. Being true to my word, I did attempt to stop daydreaming for half the lecture. I even got
Lesia to fill me in on the English I missed during my foodless lunch hour. As the last class of the day finally ended, I sighed in resignation while Lesia and I made our way to the science lab.

“I can see why Ty was so desperate to get out of this.
Mouse dissections, yuck!”

“Well, it could have been insects,”
Lesia replied with a shudder. I could agree with that sentiment.

“That’s true. Come on. Let’s get these guts off the floor and get out of here,” I said, grabbing some gloves and a biohazard bag. This was truly nasty.
Honestly
, I thought while scooping up some stray eyeballs,
can’t freshmen learn without mutilating everything.
They even managed to get some on the bottoms of the tables! A brief flash danced across my vision, but I reflexively pushed the memory down.

“I’m so going to kill Ty when I get out of here,” I grumbled.

Lesia let out a little giggle while going over to the window. “You know, I think he might be squeamish. But,” she paused, looking out, “he still waited for us.”

“Huh?” I dropped my bag and peered out the window. Sure enough, there he was leaning against the one of the brick pillars. He looked down at the ground, a head full of messy auburn on full display.

“The good news is he’s not going bald.” I grinned at Lesia, but she was no longer focused on me. Her eyes were still fixed on Ty, a gentle gaze in her brown eyes and a soft smile on her lips. She made a slight “hmm” at my remark, but her eyes never wavered. Lesia was always so cheerful and kind, but she never looked so content as she did then looking at him. And I never felt so sick.