Only a Storm

Canceled Plans and More Monopoly - April 3

While I wasn't sure why I was so nervous about being looked at, I felt my heart trying to crawl up to take up residence with my tonsils.

"I mentioned her earlier—the one who's staying with me tonight," Groves continued, not noticing that no one was paying attention anymore.

The Castilises' eyes were hypnotic. Burning and cold, like they'd taken fire and chilled it until it froze into solid chips, using them for irises. Or maybe their eyes had always been ice, and someone had injected liquid fire in place of their pupils. That would explain their strange luminescence—almost like animal eyes. And they were trained on me, staring me down like a pair of sharks looking at a particularly interesting fish before they bare their teeth and rip it into fish jerky.

Gil's fingernails dug into my palm, snapping me out of my trance. "Pleased to meet you," I blurted, looking anywhere but their eyes—her high cheekbones, his sharp jaw, the way her hair moved like a liquid.

Their disturbing examination didn't change, nor Gil's death grip on my icy hand. "And you," Mrs. Castilis said at last, loosening some of the tension thickening the air.

Their attention turned to their son, and I could breath again. Mr. Castilis cocked his head, cat-like. "Gilead, why didn't you mention you'd made a friend?" Though he retained his monotone voice and expression, I thought I could detect a hint of... something in the set of his shoulders, the shine of his inkspill eyes. Relief perhaps?

Gil shrugged uncomfortably, bangs falling in his eyes, and didn't reply—though he did relax his grip on my hand.

His parents seemed to consider this an acceptable response, because they turned back to Principal Groves. The meeting went on for another ten minutes of boredom for myself and Gil, as the conversation turned to money and paperwork and all that stuff we wouldn't have to worry about for another fifteen years. Then Groves's phone rang shrilly.

She frowned at the offending device like she could cow it with the pure annoyance shooting from her eyes—like she could transform the feeling into a bullet and shut up the cell once and for all. It did not work. She sighed and picked it up, flipping it to see the screen. Her finger moved towards the off button and froze. Her eyes widened at the phone's display. She straightened so quickly I thought she'd knock over her chair. Then she seemed to remember the Castilises, watching her with brows raised in cool amusement. Her face colored. "I'm sorry, I need to take this. It's my ex-husband," she added in explanation, and Gil's mother nodded acquiescence.

"Hello?" She sounded both eager and annoyed. Her eyebrows scrunched together. "What do you... I'm in a meeting," she sounded confused. Her eyebrows shot up at whatever the response was, and she rocketed to her feet, knocking down the chair with a crash. "You said the twenty-fourth you asshole! That's not until tomorrow!" My eyes widened at her response. Mommy said that I shouldn't use words like that. Ms. Groves was almost yelling at that point. "Like hell I don't know what I'm talking about!" She shrieked. "I triple checked with you—triple checked—and you told me the twenty-fourth! I marked it down on my phone calender! Now why don't you quit the bullshit and tell me what was so important you have to cut out on your own daughter!" She nearly frothed at the mouth in her fury. Gil's parents watched her with detached interest. "Fine! I'll see you in a couple of hours! And god help me Mervin, if I find out you left her alone with security again, I'll take you back to court for full custody rights, I swear I will." She listened to his reply, jaw tight, and nodded once. As soon as the call was over, she threw the phone on her desk and grabbed at her hair with a repressed shriek of frustration before noticing her wide eyed audience. She flushed and looked down, breathing deeply.

When she looked up again, she focused on the Castilises. "I'm so sorry, I'll have to cut our meeting short. My piece of shi-" her eyes darted to where Gil and I sat. "I mean, my piece of scum ex-husband came back from his trip with my daughter a day early because his slu- er, girlfriend got an invite to some special party. I'll have to make the two hour drive to the airport they're at."