Illusions

“So?” David asked as they exited the classroom, four hours of testing behind them.

“Don’t ask me yet,” Laurel said, panic creeping into her voice as she shouldered her backpack and walked down the long hall toward the exit and some much-needed sunshine. They’d driven to a high school in Eureka to take the test — the same classroom with no windows. Laurel had felt every minute of her confinement and intended to make up for them as quickly as possible. As she crossed over the shadow of the threshold, a gentle autumn breeze caressed her face. She breathed deeply and stopped walking, spreading her arms to embrace the sunlight. Then she sank down onto the unfamiliar front steps and just savored being done.

After a minute or so, David sat down beside her. “I brought you something.”

He handed her a cold bottle of Sprite he must have just gotten from a vending machine. Even the condensation against her fingertips was revitalizing. “Thanks.”

He waited as she opened the bottle and took a long swallow. “You okay?” he finally asked.

“Better now,” she said with a smile. “I just had to get out of that room.”

“So…,” he said, broaching the subject carefully. “How did it go?”

She smiled. “I think I did okay. Better.”

“Yeah?”

“How ’bout you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Hard to say.” He paused. “Boy, I’d like to beat Chelsea though.”

“You’re so bad. Your GPA is, like, point-oh-two better than hers. Can’t you let her win this one?”

David grinned. “We’ve been competing since junior high. It’s all in good fun — I promise.”

“Good,” Laurel said, leaning in for a kiss, then letting her head rest against his shoulder.

“So,” David said, a little hesitantly, “how about this Sadie Hawkins dance?”

Laurel laughed and shook her head. “Yeah, couldn’t they have waited one more week and held it in November? You know, around Sadie Hawkins Day?” She snorted. “They just don’t want the anti-Pagan-zealot parents up in arms again, like last year. It’s just a Halloween dance without costumes.”

“Still,” David said, “it could be fun. Not that I’m asking you,” he said, touching her nose, “because it’s ladies’ choice, but if you were to ask me, and if Chelsea were to ask Ryan, and if the two of you decided to go together, maybe we could all go together. That’s all I’m saying,” he said with a grin and a shrug.

“That’s an awful lot of ‘ifs’ there, buddy,” Laurel drawled. “I certainly hope you undertake your venture under propitious circumstances.”

“You’re awful,” David said, leaning forward to kiss her again.

“Yeah,” Laurel agreed, “but you love me.”

“Yes, I do,” David said, his voice low and throaty. “I love you with great profundity.”

“You’re doin’ it wrong,” Laurel said, giggling as David’s lips tickled her neck.

“It’s all I could come up with on the fly,” David said, laughing. “I admit to being bested by you.” He pulled back, so he could look her in the face. “Again.”

Laurel just grinned.

“Laurel, really,” David said, then paused. “I’m way proud of you.”

“David—”

“Please let me say it,” David interrupted. “It’s got to be hard to get disappointing scores and then buckle down and study for a test you already took, especially when it might not matter what you get. I think that’s really admirable.”

“Thank you,” Laurel said seriously. Then she grinned. “And you did use that word correctly.”

“Come here, you!” David said, grabbing her arm and pulling her across his lap, squeezing her as she squealed and laughed.

David dropped Laurel off at her house just as the sun was disappearing over the horizon, setting the sky afire. As she watched him drive away, she wondered what she would do if her scores really did improve.

“Laurel!”

Laurel jumped when the loud whisper sounded from around the side of her house. She looked over and saw Tamani poking his head out from behind the wall.

“Do you have a second?” he said, inclining his head.

After a moment of hesitation she laid her backpack down on the porch and followed him. “What do you need?” she asked, her voice low. “Is there trouble?”

“No, no, not really,” Tamani said. “Well, kind of. We… we found some trolls this morning.”

“You what?”

“We took care of it,” Tamani said, putting his hands out to calm her. “I just don’t want you to think I’m hiding anything from you. Honestly, it’s probably better that we’ve found them now.”

“Why?” Laurel asked, hesitant to believe that.

“Because it means we’ve actually seen one. We hadn’t seen any in months.”

“But everything’s okay?” Laurel said, almost sarcastically.

“It really is. We’re still on high alert, but I don’t want you to worry. Anyway, that’s not what I came here to say,” Tamani said apologetically. “I just wanted to talk. It’s been a while.”

That was true; Laurel had been avoiding him all week. Because he’d kissed her, and she didn’t want to talk about it. Because David didn’t like him. Because he was looking at Yuki the way he used to look at her.

When she didn’t respond, Tamani shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at the lawn. “So how did everything go today?”

“Fine, I think I did well.”

“Good.” He paused. “Have you done any more experiments? Maybe with the globe?”

Laurel sighed. “No. I think you’re right that I should try the phosphorescent on my skin first. But I keep putting it off because then I won’t have any more excuses before I have to clip a bit off my blossom like I originally planned. You probably think I’m a wimp. I mean, you bit your tongue open and I’m scared of clipping my petals.”

“No, you’re fine. You’ll figure something out,” Tamani said, sounding distracted.

Laurel nodded. She didn’t know what to say. She was about to come right out and ask Tamani what he wanted when he blurted out, “There’s a dance at school next Friday.”

A twisted sense of deja vu descended; Laurel was surprised to discover she preferred the tense silence. “You may not know the tradition, but it’s girls’ choice,” she said quickly. “That means you really shouldn’t be asking me. The girl is supposed to do the asking.”

“I know,” Tamani said bluntly. “I wasn’t trying to ask you.”

“Oh,” Laurel said, half wishing the earth would just open up and swallow her whole. “Well, good.”

“Yuki asked me.”

Laurel couldn’t say anything. She shouldn’t have been surprised. In fact, Yuki probably only just beat a huge line of girls all waiting to pounce.

“I just—” He was silent for a long moment and Laurel wondered if he would finish his sentence. “I wanted to come and ask you,” he finally continued, “if there was any reason I shouldn’t accept.” Then he looked up at her with pale green eyes that shone in the setting sun.

No — the light in Tamani’s eyes was much more than a reflection. It was the fire that melted her anger and devastated her resolve, every single time she saw it. She blinked and forced herself to look away before it blinded her.

“No, of course not,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “You totally should go. I mean, this is what we’re supposed to be doing, right? Figuring out Yuki?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. The defeat in his voice nearly brought Laurel to tears. “Actually, I thought it would be great if me and Yuki and you and… and David… could all go together. Maybe finally bridge that gap between you and Yuki. And it’ll be night, so I’d feel better if I could be close to you. In case anything happened.” He smiled sadly. “It’s my job, you know.”

“Yeah, sure,” Laurel said, suddenly desperate to get into her house. “Let’s all talk Monday. Maybe we can bring Chelsea and Ryan too,” she added, tacking on David’s original plan.