Zach fetched a chair from the dining room, so Hannah could sit beside her new prized possession.
The junior carpenter rested from his labors by sprawling across half the couch and helping himself to another glass of lemonade. Faye sat down beside him.
“So, what do you think now?” Zach asked Hannah.
“I think you’re a skilled craftsman and that it was very kind of you to assemble my desk for me.”
“I’m sure Zach didn’t mind in the least,” Faye observed with a twinkle in her eye.
Her descendent blushed.
The two young people exchanged shy glances of mutual admiration which they thought Faye didn’t see. She chose not to mention it and changed the subject. “Hannah, getting you a study area of your own was just the first part of my plan.”
They both peered at Faye uncomprehendingly.
The old woman sighed. “It occurs to me that we can’t hide you away from the world forever. I doubt that your Nephilim pursuers will think to look for you here. At some point, you’ll have to learn how to live in what your old associates might call the ‘Fallen World.’”
Hannah nodded gravely. “Yes, I know. It’s been months, and I’ve been working very hard using the internet and the television to understand how things are in your world. But...” she hesitated. “I know I can’t stay indoors forever.”
“Nor should you. That’s where Zach comes in.”
“Huh?” the boy asked suspiciously.
Turning to him, Faye added, “I want you to tutor Hannah.”
“Isn’t that what he’s doing already?” The girl sounded puzzled.
“Not exactly. He’s just been helping you use the internet, so you can get some insight into our strange Fallen ways. Now the time has come for you to learn subjects that are taught at school.”
Transferring her attention to the boy, Faye added, “Zach, I want you to bring all your lesson plans and textbooks over here, so Hannah can study the same courses as you. That way, in the fall she’ll be ready to attend classes at an ordinary high school with young people her own age.”
Hannah’s eyes glowed at the prospect. “Oh, I would like that very much.”
Zach seemed unconvinced. “So, you’re just gonna trot her over to your district high school like she fell out of the sky? The principal will want to know where she came from.”
“I’m quite prepared for that. My people can prepare paperwork showing that she’s been home-schooled until now.”
“Your people?” Hannah asked uncertainly.
Realizing that Faye had slipped, Zach leaped in with an explanation. “Yeah, it’s something we say out here in our world. It means Gamma knows some people who can help her with that. She knows a lot of people.”
Faye gave the boy a slight wink while Hannah was busy admiring her desk. Then she continued with her explanation. “Hannah is a year younger than you are, Zachary, so she’ll be starting at the level you’re at now. If you tutor her in your coursework, she’ll be that much ahead of her classmates. It will give her more time to adjust to the social atmosphere.”
“And make everybody hate her at school because she’ll already know all the answers,” Zach protested.
“Everybody is going to hate me?” Hannah asked in alarm.
“Calm down. There’s no need to worry.” Faye chuckled. “Zach, she won’t be going to your school, so I’m sure the teachers will have a slightly different approach even if the subject matter is the same. I feel it’s important that she have an academic advantage. She’ll have enough of a struggle just trying to fit in socially.”
I’ll study very hard,” Hannah said earnestly, trying to convince them both. “Do you think I’ll be smart enough to understand the lessons?”
Zach gave a snort of derision. “After watching how fast you’ve picked up stuff from the net, I’ll be lucky if I can keep up with you!”
Hannah helped herself to the last cookie. “It’s so strange to think of going to school. Among the Nephilim, a girl my age would be a mother already.” She faltered, apparently thinking of her miscarriage.
Faye smiled reassuringly. “In the world of the Fallen, it’s highly unusual for a fifteen-year-old girl to be thinking of anything other than school dances and fashion.”
“That doesn’t sound very scholarly.” Hannah’s voice held a note of disapproval.
“They haven’t lived through what you have,” Faye countered. “Their childhood years were simpler.”
“I hope I’ll make you proud of me,” the girl added anxiously.
Zach studied Hannah with an expression of blank disbelief. “First lesson. If you want to fit in at school, we need to work on your attitude. You have got to stop trying to please people. Plus, you’re way too grateful. No self-respecting American teenager is like that.”
“They aren’t?” Hannah looked shocked.
Faye chuckled ruefully. “I’m afraid my descendent is right, Hannah. You need to cultivate an attitude of long-suffering contempt for your elders. Then you’ll fit right in.” Turning to Zach, she asked, “Am I right, dear?”
“Fo shizzle, Gamma. Fo shizzle!”
Chapter 8—Food Fight
Cassie leaned back in a wooden lawn chair and shut her eyes. The morning sun filtering through leafy tree branches was still too bright. She sighed and blinked, wearily regarding the placid hotel garden scene in front of her. It was so peaceful, and she was drowsy enough to fall asleep again even after a full night’s rest. No matter what the clocks said in Botswana, her body was still operating on Central Daylight Time in the good old U.S. of A. She yawned and rubbed her eyes trying to shake off a case of jetlag
