Borrowed Courage

Chapter Three

"Kaleb?"

Brooke regretted the word the instant it left her mouth, because the very notion was insane. She clamped her lips together, forcing herself to calm down and think rationally about the borrower struggling in her grasp.

She had to be wrong. In fact, there was no way she couldn't be. Last time she'd checked, borrowers didn't have a common habit of attending school, much less at human size. Brooke wasn't a genius, but she knew that much about the world.

Oh yeah, so why are you freaking out then? Her thoughts argued.

Brooke felt her unoccupied hand beginning to shake at her side. She took a deep, frantic breath, recognising the signs of a panic attack but finding it harder to make a move with each passing second. Curiosity was fighting her disbelief for the reigns now, and at this point, she was inclined to let it win.

Unbeknownst to her, Brooke's captive wasn't faring any better with the situation.

Because Kaleb Finch was having what was quite possibly one of the worst days of his life.

****

It had started with the bicycle.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Kaleb." His mom had scolded the second he walked through the apartment door and leant the rusted bike he'd found the previous day against the wall. "When I say you can go out and borrow things willy nilly, I meant stuff we can use. Dental floss, paper clips, matches— not a bloody bicycle! What're we supposed to do with it?"

"What am I gonna do with it?" He rolled his eyes with a smirk. "I'm gonna ride it, mom."

"A borrower riding a bicycle." She scoffed, wringing her hands on her apron. "I suppose you'll be coming home next wanting to get a driver's licence. Or worse, a pet."

Kaleb wrinkled his nose. "No one said anything about getting a pet, mom. I just figured it'd save me some money to ride to school instead of catching the bus all the time, y'know?"

"Yes, well, that is a good idea." His mother replied quietly, but Kaleb was well-practiced in reading her downturned expression.

"But?" He prompted.

She shot him a withering look, stepping further out onto the kitchen bench as though to punctuate the drastic size difference between them. It was something Kaleb had taken some time getting used to when he'd first adopted a human lifestyle; how vulnerable his kind really was through the eyes of the giants who ran the world. His mom shared the same sentiment, albeit intensified by the maternal anxiety that came with having multiple family members pose as humans for a living.

Put simply, it made her a nervous wreck.

"D-Don't you think that's a bit much?" She asked, craning her neck to meet his eyes. "Westmount is in an upmarket area of town, love. You'll attract attention if you start showing up to school on a rusty bicycle."

"You worry too much." Kaleb gave her what he hoped was a reassuring grin. "Trust me, the humans won't suspect a thing. Besides, I'm going to fix it up first; you won't even recognise it when I'm done."

His mom sighed. "I worry because you're not careful. If you want to keep going to Westmount, you need to be a model human student. The way you are now— it's too reckless, Kaleb. You're acting too much like a borrower."

"I am careful—!" Kaleb started to protest, but paused with a frown as her words sunk in. "Hang on, mum... where are you going with this?"

She folded her arms sternly. "I got a call from your teacher today. He said that you've been picking fights with one of your classmates ever since her dad got caught gassing borrowers."