Shared Skies Page 13

  “Er…Mrs. Patterson,” the caretaker stared at her, “they nearly killed each other!”

  Mrs. Patterson looked at him for a second or two. “Oh yes! Indeed! Thank you very much for your help here. Sorry for dragging you all away from your work, it’s all under control now. Thank you all, I’ll deal with it from here.”

  The staff members walked slowly away looking troubled, but Mrs. Patterson had seemed quite clear. “Right! Back to class and I don’t want to hear any more about this nonsense.” She stalked back into the school.

  Graeme stretched slowly, easing his head from side to side. “Don’t look so worried, Gaiah. As she said ‘boys will be boys’. Anyway Neal overreacted, and a few punches don’t mean anything. We’ll sort it out between us. But I guess that it means that he won’t want to come out with us on Saturday.”

  Cassie and Donald were still just standing in silence. Graeme punched Donald gently on the shoulder. “Hey, lighten up! Scraps like this happen all the time back home. Anyway, Gaiah, what about Saturday?”

  Gaiah stared at him. Was he for real? No response came to mind. There was too much to figure out. “Oh, let’s sort it out tomorrow.” He made an elaborate bow. “Yes, Miss Scarlett, after all–tomorrow is another day!”

  Despite everything, this almost made Gaiah smile. Who didn’t know the famous last line from Gone With the Wind?

  “Now, I’m off to clean up–I don’t want to frighten the customers in Mrs. McKintyre’s emporium.” And he left without looking at Neal.

  Neal’s battered face was unreadable. He looked at Gaiah but said nothing, just turned and walked away. Donald exhaled. “Wow! That was something never seen at this school before, it was awful.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Cassie. “I hated it. I feel sick, and what was that with Mrs. Patterson? That was really weird! I mean no detention, nothing! That’s not normal. Oh God! It was really gross. I don’t feel like going back to class now.”

  Donald nodded, “Yeah, I feel like heading off too. Let’s just get the bus home now, shall we?”

  Cassie gave Renny and Gaiah a small smile. “This isn't really typical of our school you know.” She gave her usual little wave as she disappeared back into the school with Donald.

  “Powers! Wait till Kaley and Alasdair hear all about today.” Renny sounded breathless.

  “Hang on! Don’t say anything yet.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Well, we’re not exactly sure about anything. Don’t forget, there wasn't any threat to me. Anyway I still feel…I feel…Oh, I don’t know what I feel. I don’t understand what’s going on and until I do, I don’t want to alarm my grandparents. I mean, truthfully, I was never at risk, was I?”

  Renny thought about this. “No,” she said slowly, “but I’m sure it’s as clear to you as it is to me that Mrs. Patterson was encognated by someone. And there was no way she would be happy to let that fight go, so the encognation had to override all her instincts. As far as I can see, we still have only one candidate for that role!”

  “But why was Graeme so aggressive and violent too?” Gaiah countered.

  “I don’t know, some humans are quite sensitive, you know. Maybe he sensed Neal’s intentions toward Cassie and wanted to defend her?”

  They walked slowly through the school out to the front where Kaley was waiting in the car park. Neal was just starting his bike and didn't look at them as they walked past but Gaiah could see the finger marks on his neck quite clearly.

  Chapter Fourteen

  There was no chance to tell Kaley anything. She was completely preoccupied with the news that Gorand and his family were shifting Earthways in a day or so, and were going to spend a few nights with them. She was determined to make the visit perfect and had been shopping. Her cheeks were red and her hair escaped from its plait in long tendrils. She almost buried the girls beneath the overflow of shopping bags from the boot of the car.

  Gaiah was more than happy to allow a discussion of bolognese versus chicken kiev and lasagne versus steak pie to occupy them all the way home. Kaley ended the conversation with a decision to make everything.

  This meant Renny and Gaiah were put to chopping, peeling, crushing and slicing the minute they got home. Gaiah found it therapeutic. A local radio station burbled in the background. Kaley issued constant instructions and Renny questioned them all. Her mind was free to roam. Not so much roam, she noted, but spiral in ever-decreasing circles, as she mulled things over. Nothing made any sense. Gaiah knew, from Renny's reproachful looks, that she felt they should tell Kaley about the weirdness in school today. Gaiah was still trying not to think of any of it.

  Things were boiling, frying, baking and soaking when Alasdair shimmered into view. “Can I borrow Gaiah for a minute? I want to show her something. It’s a stunningly beautiful sunset at home. I won’t keep her long. I promise.”

  Gaiah looked up from her chopping board with surprise.

  “Wow. I'd love to go.”

  She washed her hands and Kaley kissed her as she went past. “I’d love to go and see it too, but I can’t leave all this stuff. I’m sure Renny and I will manage for a while. Just don’t get carried away and stay all night.”

  “No problem,” promised Alasdair, as he took Gaiah’s hand. They shifted to Gaiana, to the same huge hall as before. Even from here it was obviously a spectacular evening. The hall glowed in a haze of orange and pink. “Let’s get a hover, quickly.” Alasdair held his hand up to a pad on the wall. With a hum, the wall parted. Out slid a smooth, white, wheel-less vehicle shaped like a giant, slightly flattened, egg. Alasdair rested his hand on the door at his side. It swung open and he sat in. “Hurry Gaiah, we don’t have much time.”

  Gaiah copied him with a tentative touch to the passenger door. It opened without a sound. She slid into the shiny, low seat. There was no steering wheel, just a keyboard on which Alasdair was typing.

  “Open top I think, for the full experience.” Alasdair said. The roof parted in the middle and slid down into the doors. The car purred, and they headed for the far wall. “Compressed air,” said Alasdair. As if that would explain everything.

  The colours got stronger as they drew near the wall. There was no exit apparent, as they gathered speed. Gaiah frowned across at Alasdair. “Grandpa?”

  “Don’t worry. Energy sensitive walls. They sense the negative charge from us and of course, this forces atoms to part.”

  Gaiah had no intention of questioning him. One second they were in the hall, the next they were outside. Gaiah’s shock at this maneuver immediately disappeared at the sight of rolling green hills, patterned with white roads, all bathed in a shimmering cerise light. Her mouth opened in a smile so wide she felt it stretch her cheek, and her eyes darted from side to side, trying to take in everything.

  Alasdair took Gaiah’s hand and watched her reaction with delight, as the hover took them up a winding road, leaving the arrivals hall behind in the distance. Alasdair stopped the hover just below the crest of one of the higher hills. “Okay, we’re just in time to catch the end of it.”

  They stepped out on to lush, springy grass and strode to the crest. The land fell away to form a huge natural amphitheatre; an enormous sloping semi-circle leading down to a wide stage of shining, white stone that opened into the embrace of the sea and sky. Alasdair spread his arms. “We call this area ‘Tres Lumen’. It’s our meeting place. Used for celebrations and commemorations. It’s also the most magnificent view of the interplay of light from the three worlds.”

  The air shone. The fresh smell of trees, flowers, grass, and sea was a heady mixture. But it was the sky that took her breath away.

  She had seen movies of Earth’s tropical sunsets, but they faded to a sepia copy in comparison to this. The sky was painted with vivid lines of pulsating crimson and feathery wisps of rose. Gilded purple clouds floated across a palette of incalculable colours.

  Colours that languidly entwined and mingled and merged in the vast expanse of sky. Where rays of sun we
re still coming through, they were shafts of sparkling gold, turning passing clouds into iridescent multi-coloured banners.

  Gaiah and Alasdair weren’t the only people at the top of the hill to watch. There were dozens of hovers parked nearby. Families were standing engrossed, their faces shining in the changing light. There must have been at least a hundred more people spread out through the amphitheatre.

  “It’s always beautiful, but sometimes it’s mind-bogglingly magical.” Alasdair was smiling at Gaiah. This was her land too. The realization filled her with joy. This peace and beauty, these lovely people–she felt totally part of it. A couple wearing matching turquoise Gaianan clothes stood close by.

  The woman smiled at them. “Isn’t it wonderful? Makes you glad to be alive and grateful to be Gaianan, doesn’t it?”

  Despite all that had been happening, Gaiah agreed with them. Nature’s work of art was being completed for the day. The sun cleaned its brushes with a final vivid burst of energy, leaving a signature of orange and gold across the darkening horizon and the crowd broke into spontaneous applause. “There are several places on Earth, you know, where they applaud the evening sun in the same way.”

  Alasdair glanced at his watch and jumped. “The time! Quick, quick. Oh, my Powers! Quarter of a Gaianan hour. Kaley will de-energize us.” They ran back to the hover. Gaiah twisted in her seat the whole way back, keeping her eyes fixed on the sky lights which were still leaving traces of their sensational performance.

  As they passed through the wall again Gaiah said, “Thank you so much, that was...it was so…incredible. I’ve never– “ she caught herself and laughed. “Well, of course I haven’t, have I?”

  Alasdair laughed too. “It is just a Gaianan sunset, I know, but its magnificence says so much about what Gaiana is. Obviously, we grow up with it, and as a child you take everything for granted, but one day you suddenly see this marvel that surrounds us, and are awestruck.” They got out of the hover which returned itself to the wall.

  Gaiah looked at their joined hands as Alasdair prepared to shift them both. “Will you show me how to shift on my own?”

  “Oh, yes, of course. It takes a lot of practice and a completely different understanding of the world than the one you have at the moment, but it is one of our priorities for you.” As they spoke, Alasdair shifted them Earthways and they shimmered guiltily, into an empty, dark kitchen.

  A warm hum from the Rayburn and a soft splashing from the dishwasher were the only sounds in a kitchen rich with the smells of garlic and tomatoes. The wooden table gleamed in the soft glow of the hall light, and the school lunches for tomorrow were sitting reproachfully in the middle of it. Alasdair whispered, “It’s very late. Go straight to bed and I’ll see you in the morning.” He kissed Gaiah, who said, “Thank you again, Grandpa. I’ll never forget it.” And they tiptoed to bed.

  Despite the late night, Gaiah was up and showered before Kaley and Renny. She was still elated by the visit to Gaiana. Apart from being a magical introduction to her own world, it meant she hadn’t spent the night worrying about Graeme and Neal. “What time did you two shift Earthways last night?”

  Kaley asked with a smile.

  Gaiah grinned. “Oh, not too late.” Gaiah had no idea how she felt about seeing Graeme and Neal today, after their lunacy of yesterday. But as she had economics and history first, she didn’t have to face them.

  In maths class, Neal’s seat was empty, but Graeme was in his usual place at the back. He smiled at her sheepishly as she went to her seat. Donald was in his place too, but he just nodded at her. As soon as the bell went for break, Donald stood. “I’m off to help Cassie in the art room.” And he fled.

  Before Gaiah could stand up, Graeme was at her desk.

  “God! Gaiah, I was such a dick yesterday. Neal and I were complete idiots. I feel really embarrassed. Honestly. Help me, Renny! Tell her–don’t I look like the sorriest guy you have ever seen?”

  Renny gave a small smile. This seemed to be enough encouragement for Graeme. He accompanied them to the canteen, pleading for forgiveness. They sat at a table by the window. Graeme sat between them, in the middle of the bench. Abruptly he turned his back on Renny, straddled the bench and picked up Gaiah’s hand. “Right! Now, what about us? Where are we going? What would you like to do? Let’s decide.”

  Gaiah tried to take her hand back. A casual, get-to-know-you date would be one thing. But this insistence was putting her off. She tugged her hand back. Renny was leaning around Graeme, giving Gaiah a ‘what the hell is happening’ look. Gaiah scowled, she was being pressurized into a conversation she wasn't ready to have. “Look Graeme…I…erm…Look, I'd just like to forget about this weekend…I mean, I’d like to get to know you and everything, but I'd like to take things slowly and…y’know, like Neal said, do things as a group or something...and kind of…see how we get on?”

  He stared at her.” What? Are you joking? Do what Neal says?”

  Gaiah sighed. “No! It’s not that. It’s just–”

  Graeme broke in. “It is Neal, isn’t it? You fancy him, don’t you? Well, that’s never going to happen!” He stood up abruptly and stormed off without looking at Gaiah again.

  “Wow. Psycho!” Renny said as she watched him leave.

  Gaiah seethed. God damn him! How dare he? Bloody hell, that was ridiculous!

  Renny spread her hands. “I don’t get what any of that was about.” They looked at each other, lost for words. The bell told them break was over, and as they headed to a double study period, they decided that whatever the problem between Neal and Graeme was, it had to be far bigger than a dispute over a girl. Gaiah sat and stared at an open book for the entire study time, still trying to get a handle on what was happening and what it all meant.

  She heaved a sigh of relief when the last bell of the day sounded. On the way out, Gaiah stopped to get her history books from her locker. When she opened it, her heart skipped a beat; a folded sheet of paper lay on top of her pile of books. What now? Keeping her hands inside in the locker, she opened it.

  Gaiah, PLEASE meet me tomorrow at 10. I’ll wait for you at the second wooden gate in the lane behind school. PLEASE come. I really need to talk to you.

  Neal

  She hastily folded it into her books, closed her locker and joined Renny, who was leaning against her own locker, waiting patiently.

  Gaiah’s feeling of things spiraling out of her control made her monosyllabic on the way home. Kaley said this unusual behaviour was probably due to the late night in Gaiana. So, after dinner, she only allowed the girls an hour or two of ‘suggesting’ practice. Then she appeared with hot chocolate and instructions for an early night. Gaiah looked suspiciously at the hot chocolate, and then at Kaley.

  Kaley laughed. “Oh Energies, no, Gaiah, how could you even think such a thing? That's only for emergencies!”

  Renny’s look of confusion made them both laugh and Gaiah headed to bed with a smile on her face.

  Once in bed though, her mind began to spin. Why does Neal want to talk to me? Has my encognation actually worked? Is he responding or is he going to try and break free of his Or’kan controller to talk to me? She had to find out. Or is he setting a trap? This last thought sent a shiver of fear through her. Was she wise to do this? Should she slip into Renny’s room and discuss it with her? No, she already knew what Renny would say and she didn’t want to hear it.

  Next morning, there was such a thick mist they could only see a few metres in front of the car as they drove to school. Gaiah had put a thick polo neck jumper on over a warm t-shirt, but was still cold. “God! I really hate this weather. It’s so depressing, nothing looks right. We’d be better off staying in bed today.”

  She knew she was just looking for an excuse not to make any decision; not about meeting Neal, nor about telling Renny. She was in a bad mood and this weather wasn’t helping. By half past ten, her stomach was in knots and she felt shaky. She had to do something. Even making no decision was a type of decision.
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  Not turning up would mean she’d never know what he wanted to say. The thought of him waiting for an hour in this dreary mist made her feel bad. Almost without thinking, she tore a page from her note-book scribbled a few lines, got to her feet and said, “Excuse me Mrs. Kane, I need to go to the bathroom, please.” As she stood, she dropped the note on Renny’s desk.

  Will you follow me in about ten minutes, please? To the lane behind the school. Sorry about this!

  Gaiah could imagine Renny‘s horrified face when she read the note, but it didn't stop her. Decision taken, she had to act fast. She walked through the school, her steps quickening as she neared the front door. Once outside, she ran as fast as she could around the school and out the back. The lane was slippery with fallen leaves and the mist clung to her hair.

  The fog had robbed the day of depth and by the time she saw the figure, it was almost on top of her. Her heart thudded, but a bouncing terrier barking around her feet calmed her down. The figure took shape; it was an old lady, well wrapped up against the weather, in a long, white, hooded rain coat. She called her dog to heel and smiled at Gaiah. “School’s the other direction, dear. Not that I didn’t skip it myself lots of times too, but I certainly picked better weather!”

  Gaiah smiled back. “Oh, I won’t be long. I’m not actually skipping.”

  The lady smiled knowingly. “Oh, right. Well, I better continue with Jock’s walk, he has to get out every day no matter what the weather. Up to the school and back, twice a day. That’s what he likes. Isn’t it Jock?” The dog almost answered her, barking and running in circles. They disappeared quickly in the mist.