Pulse of Heroes (16 page)

Michelle arranged to visit Francesca weekly,
and told her that she would help her around the house when needed.
Francesca tried to pay her for her time, but Michelle refused. The
way Michelle saw it, it was as if Francesca was a grandmother, as
both of hers had passed away. One before she was born, and the
other when she was only four years old. Michelle helped Francesca
with odds and ends in the garden like raking leaves or weeding,
even planting sometimes. She also helped her collect more of the
wonderful lemons, and even refilled the bird feeder that had hung
empty for many years. Francesca definitely had a green thumb, and
she talked to the plants and flowers as if they could hear her. She
told Michelle that they did in fact hear her, and the way that they
blossomed, she just might be right.

One afternoon, Francesca told Michelle that
she had decided to stop having food delivered to her home.

“Why?” Michelle asked, surprised.

“Come,” Francesca said, wobbling out the back
door to the yard. Michelle wondered what the old lady had up her
sleeve this time. Although Francesca was 93, her personality was
still like that of a little girl. She was very excitable and full
of life. She certainly didn’t see life as a countdown to the end,
but rather as a continuing adventure. Michelle followed her to an
old shed on the side of the house. It looked like an old barn from
a children’s picture book. “Wait here,” Francesca said as she
disappeared into a small side door. Michelle heard her on the other
side of the doors wrestling with what sounded like a heavy metal
chain. She then saw that Francesca was trying to push the doors
open. Michelle helped her, although it was a struggle. The old
hinges creaked and cracked and it was obvious that they had not
moved in many years. A flurry of dust got sucked out of the
darkness when the doors finally opened, and Michelle had to turn
away to let the dust cloud pass her by. Francesca was standing at
the entrance smiling while Michelle was still struggling to peer
into the darkness. There were no lights of any kind in the shed.
Eventually, Michelle’s eyes grew accustomed to the dark.

“So, what do you think?” Francesca asked.
Michelle saw that she was now standing in front of a small vehicle,
but she didn’t recognize the make or model. “It still runs. I start
it every once in a while,” Francesca said, patting the car above
the front wheel as if it was a horse. “You do know how to drive a
stick shift?” Michelle bent down in front of the car searching for
a logo, but all she noticed was the unusual shape of the front
grill. She had never seen anything quite like it. Francesca
laughed, “Oh, no need. If you’re wondering, it’s a Jaguar 1954
Roadster, a 120 or something like that. We used to take it out on
the weekends. Renzo was so proud the day he brought it home brand
new.”

When Michelle got home she called Samantha
and told her all about the car. It was beyond cool or even sick, it
was like a beautiful work of art. The problem was that Michelle
needed more practice in driving a stick shift. She also needed to
pass her driver’s test. She had already taken Driver’s Ed. at
school, and had a certificate that let her drive if an adult was in
the car, but she hadn’t bothered with the actual license because
she didn’t have a car yet. She asked Samantha if she could give her
a couple of lessons in the VW bug since it was a stick shift. So,
on Saturday, Samantha and James picked Michelle up and they drove
to an abandoned lot where they practiced for hours. James was a
senior and had just turned 18, so it was perfect because he counted
as an adult. It was a lot of fun and there were also a few scares.
But the end result was that within another week, Michelle had
passed her driver’s test and was patiently waiting for her official
picture driver’s license card to arrive in the mail.

Obtaining her driver’s license kept
Michelle’s mind occupied for the entire week, but once she passed
that hurdle she was back to giving her full attention to the
photograph and to Elliot.

She decided to turn to the local library for
some answers, and spent many hours there exploring picture books of
old Willow’s Creek and leafing through books about the
supernatural. She didn’t find anything in terms of old photos, and
the other books just went on about the same tired old monsters like
werewolves, vampires and physically grotesque witches. The Internet
was similarly of little use. She found plenty of sites that
described Aliens hiding amongst people and how they were physically
superior to humans. There was no way that Elliot and his friends
were Aliens. There were also numerous conspiracy theories about the
government putting chemicals in the drinking water to make humans
weak and prevent them from living up to their full capacity both
physically and mentally. They argued that if not for all the
chemicals people could be much stronger and faster, and their
brains would be a lot more powerful, like superhumans. She did find
something on a site about Asian martial arts where the writer
explained that with lots of training and discipline a person could
actually walk up walls. That made her feel a little better,
although it still didn’t explain the photograph. Maybe it wasn’t
him after all, she thought while looking at it in bed one more time
before turning out the light.

The first drive in the Jaguar was a blast.
Francesca and Michelle carefully cleaned the car together before
taking it downtown to the market. When they were finally on the
road it only took Michelle a couple of minutes to get use to it. It
was a marvelous afternoon and Francesca was smiling from ear to ear
under the sun with the top down. Michelle was amazed at how many
people honked and waved at them to let them know that they liked
the car; some of them just gave the thumbs-up as they drove past.
Michelle was received warmly in the market, and she was very
relieved by the show of support. After being dismissed from her
position, she had thought that she would never be able to show her
face there out of pure shame.

While Francesca enjoyed walking up and down
the aisles, Michelle excused herself to the bakery next-door to
pick up something sweet for after dinner at home. She would be
right back she told Francesca, who in turn stuffed a couple of
dollars in Michelle’s pocket and asked her to pick up some of the
jellied center shortbread cookies they had, but only if they had
strawberry because she wasn’t too crazy about the apricot ones.

When Michelle entered the bakery, she
immediately saw Xander sitting at one of the tables drinking coffee
and reading the local newspaper. Their gazes met immediately and to
Michelle’s surprise, Xander smiled at her warmly. Baffled, Michelle
did not return the polite gesture; all she felt was shame and
foreboding. The last time he saw her Elliot had been accusing her
of something awful, and then Mr. Meyers had asked her in front of
everyone to leave and wait for him outside. She felt completely
demoted then, and now seeing Xander again brought those feelings
back. Michelle cursed the universe. What were the chances that he
would be there that afternoon? She wanted out, and the longer she
stood there in his view, the more likely he was to remember how
pathetic she was. Luckily, the pie she came in for was ready to go,
but unfortunately for Francesca, they were out of the strawberry
cookies. Michelle paid for her order and headed to the door
quickly. But just as her arm was extended to grab the handle,
Xander got up from his seat and called her by her name.

Michelle turned around and reluctantly walked
back to where he was standing. If her lips didn’t say it, her eyes
definitely did; they were pleading for mercy.

“Michelle, I am so glad to have run into you
here,” Xander said while pulling out a chair so she could sit
opposite from him. “Here why don’t you sit down for a…”

Michelle cut him off, “That’s really nice of
you Mr. De Costa but I’m kind of in a hurry.”

“For just a minute then. I insist,” said
Xander, still smiling but a bit more firmly. Michelle sat down on
the edge of the chair with one leg already extended towards the
door, just in case he got too comfortable. Xander sat back down and
put his hands on the table as if in prayer. He took a moment to
collect his thoughts while Michelle sat there looking at her feet
like a guilty little girl that was about to get reprimanded.

“About that afternoon,” Xander began, and
Michelle’s heart immediately sank. He told her that he wanted to
apologize to her for the way that Elliot had behaved. Michelle
looked at Xander in surprise, wondering if her hearing was ok.

“Apologize to me?” she asked, but then
remembered that Xander had walked in after her phone was already
lying on the floor. Perhaps Elliot hadn’t told him about how the
entire misunderstanding had unfolded. But Michelle had nothing to
lose anymore, and confessed to him that she was in the wrong.

“I did try to take a photo of that thing on
the wall,” Michelle admitted. “I started it, and I’m very sorry Mr.
De Costa. I really am, and I paid for it already. I got fired.”

Xander looked at Michelle with surprise and
sadness. “Is that so?” he asked, and then added that he was even
more sorry to hear that. “Look,” he said, “the boys at the school
are not bad, or criminal in any way, but as you saw they can get
heated, and overly so in certain situations. Taking a photo of
private property without asking is wrong, but it is also wrong to
physically accost someone. Kahl told me about Elliot grabbing your
wrist, and I myself saw the evidence of your broken phone. Elliot
felt quite remorseful afterwards.” Michelle couldn’t believe the
words that came out of her mouth next. She told him that she didn’t
think Elliot had really tried to hurt her. Why was she protecting
him even after everything that had happened, she wondered to
herself? But Xander maintained that Elliot was still out of
line.

“You’re right Michelle. I know Elliot well
enough to know that he was not trying to hurt you, but as men, we
often underestimate our own strength. Elliot is a kind person. I
will be the first to vouch for that.” Michelle wanted to tell
Xander that she had seen Elliot’s kindness firsthand, but she
decided against it. She was going to keep her word, even if she
never saw Elliot again.

Xander cautioned that it was better for
Michelle to keep her distance from the school, explaining that each
of the students there had unique issues that they were working on,
and until they get control of those drawbacks they should just be
avoided. At all costs. That was why they chose to locate the school
in that secluded area to begin with. Someone called Xander’s name
from behind the counter and he rose up and shook Michelle’s hand.
“That’s my order. I’m glad we got to talk and I hope you
understand. I really am sorry about you losing your job.”

Although Michelle had seen a more
compassionate side of Elliot, she didn’t believe that he felt
horrible about anything. He’d had his chance to let her off the
hook, yet he had refused. Most likely, Xander just said those
things to her in order to try and clear the air. Michelle wondered
if Elliot had anger management issues. She was, after all, quite
scared by the temper he displayed. But could he have really hurt
her? Maybe the town was right to reject the school, and she was
just a naive girl fighting against the tide of smarter and
better-informed individuals.

That evening when Michelle got home her
parents told her that they were planning a trip down the coast to
Camarillo to spend Easter Sunday with her godparents, Mr. &
Mrs. Ashland. They had been good friends of Michelle’s mother’s
parents, and had taken on the role of distant grandparents to both
Toby and Michelle. The plan was to leave Thursday morning and spend
the entire weekend there, returning by Sunday evening. It was a
long car journey, although it was one of the world’s most beautiful
coasts. They were even planning to spend a day in Catalina, her
mother said excitedly.

Michelle really did love the Ashlands, but
she had already made her own plans for the long weekend. When
Michelle disclosed that information to her mom the two of them went
around in circles, each stating their case as to why the other
should give in. Michelle’s mom just couldn’t understand why on
earth Michele was making such a big deal about staying home all
weekend just to go to a small get-together with her friends.

Finally, Michelle’s father couldn’t take the
arguing anymore and put his foot down. “You know, I would rather
have a peaceful trip than have to sit in the car for a six hour
drive with someone who doesn’t want to be there. Michelle, you’re
old enough to stay home by yourself, or maybe you can spend the
weekend with Samantha, but this better not be about some raging
party that you’re planning to have while we’re gone.”

Her mother protested immediately. “What about
that darn school, Ron? I just don’t feel that it’s a good idea to
leave her here”

For some reason Michelle couldn’t take the
idea of her mom even mentioning ‘that’ school; it was her
territory.

“It’s called
Hekademos Learning
Center
, Mom! And they are not dangerous!” she blurted out.

“How do you know what it’s called? Have you
been out there?” her mother asked, upset. “Ron, say something.”

“Everyone knows what it’s called, Mom! It’s
no big secret…”

In the end, Michelle got her wish. She would
stay home for Easter break.

The reason that Michelle had been so adamant
about staying home that weekend was something that her parents had
completely overlooked. And they should have known better,
considering where they lived. The first of April wasn’t just April
Fools’ Day. It was also the first official day of Abalone Season.
Northern California and lower Oregon were known to be the best
areas where the delectable and highly prized red mollusks could be
found. Everybody in the counties of Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa, and
Marin knew all about it. It was a time-honored tradition to drive
up the coast, find a place to park, and head down steep trails to
rocky outposts jutting out at the ocean’s edge. Everyone knew
someone who knew someone else that had told them about some secret
spot where the treasure was in abundance.