The Spirit Guardians Book 1: Enlightened

Chapter 21

August progressed until it was nearly a week and a half before Cassie's training program began. She had worked diligently to prepare excuses in order to protect her identity. It didn't help that Cherie had oh-so-kindly reminded her that nothing had been heard about her family—a shocker if there ever was one.

Irene and Miguel hadn't been as irate, though they'd grown very quiet, keeping their distance from nearly everyone, especially Cassie.

To top it all off, Cassie realized shockingly that her birthday was not too far away. It seemed like such a minuscule detail now. She wondered what she would've done to celebrate her birthday back home. She'd probably have had a pool party and eaten a big piece of icecream cake. She had neglected to mention her birthday to anyone, though she doubted they would care. A birthday had so little importance in her life right now.

Cassie stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. It was a brand new day. The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and to Cassie, it almost felt like a normal summer day at home.

Of course, home probably no longer existed. It was only a memory, a place she doubted she would ever revisit.

Cassie ignored these negative thoughts as she spit her toothpaste into the sink and rinsed. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, realizing she was in desperate need of a haircut. Her hair had grown several inches over summer, and she longed for it to be shorter again. It was making the heat unbearable. Perhaps she'd ask Lillian to cut it for her soon.

Cassie stepped out of the bathroom and lugged her supplies back to her room. She walked outside, finding the others scattered throughout the house. Apparently Lillian and Marc had gone on a run together, leaving only Conny, Miguel, Irene, and Elijah.

Cassie walked past the kitchen where Miguel was nibbling on a small piece of toast and sat down in the living room. Elijah was crawling on the floor and letting out cheerful giggles. He had only begun crawling recently, now at nine months. Irene had to be careful about where she set him.

When Elijah spotted Cassie, he grinned and pointed at her. Irene said nothing and shoved a toy car toward him. The infant ignored this and kept his gaze on Cassie. She waved to him, causing him to let out a faint giggle.

Cassie turned and approached the dusty bookshelf, placing back another book she had borrowed.

"I don't understand why you read from that shelf," Irene spoke at last.

Cassie turned. "Pardon?"

"No one has touched it in years. It's covered in dust and cobwebs. I'm surprised moths haven't eaten the pages."

"The books are fine. It just needs to be dusted, that's all," Cassie explained.

"I'm not sure why we have that old thing. Cherie used to make us read when we were younger. It's stupid, really," she muttered, handing a different colored car to Elijah.

Cassie wasn't sure how to reply, so she grabbed another book from the shelf and dusted it off, watching as a cloud of particles faded into the air with the swipe of her hand. She was about to retreat to her room when Conny noticed her.

"Hey!" he called.

"Yeah?"

"Will you help me sweep the deck? Some leaves are falling already. I'm trying to clear it," he explained.

She sighed and set the book down before following him outside. He handed her a large wooden broom, and the two got to work, sweeping leaves and dust from the porch.

"It'll be snowing in no time," Conny realized.

"Great," Cassie groaned.

"Don't like snow?" Conny wondered. "It's fun that first week. Then you start wishing for spring."