Read The Crystals of Tlalli: Awakened Affinities Page 3

intricate design. When Rica took it the material felt strange, not like cardboard at all more like leather. There was a hard mysterious bulge in the middle. There was no time to look at it, so she stuffed it into her backpack to investigate later.

  “Remember we love you Rica.” Her mother said her voice broke on Rica’s name. Then Rica heard the first period bell and dashed out the door and into the school.

  Out of breath from her sprint into the foyer Rica stopped to compose herself. There were still kids hurrying to class so she wasn’t late yet. The foyer of the high school was a three-story room with glass covering the front letting in the early winter sun; the light caught in the crystal stars that hung from the ceiling sending a spectrum of color about the foyer. The floor and walls were tiled in a fantastic depiction of the solar system and the galaxy. The ceiling had various nebula and galaxies of the universe. Two wide staircases framed the open space leading up to the classrooms and offices. She ran up the right hand steps two at a time to get to her locker and stow her backpack and coat. She barely made it to class and into her seat when the final bell rang.

  The rest of the day went by in a jumble. The bell finally rang for the last period of the day and Ulrica hurried to her locker to get the history notes she had put in her notebook. Rica felt frazzled like her brain just wouldn’t work right. Everything had been going wrong today, first oversleeping, then missing her bus, now she couldn’t seem to do anything right. Rica yawned. Why couldn’t she get her mind on what she was doing? “Focus Rica!” Rica told herself.

  “Talking to yourself again?” Rica jumped at the sound of Todd’s voice.

  “Yeah, I guess.” Rica shrugged at him.

  “You skipping class?” He had stopped behind her in the hall.

  “No, I have a free period. What are you doing Todd?” Rica glanced up at him.

  “Making copies for Mr. Phillips. I better jet. Catch ya later.” He grinned and continued down the hall. Rica waved at his retreating form. Todd was built like an athlete with a lean strong frame and he had started to build muscle this last year. His red curly hair was cut short and his green eyes were the perfect shade of lime Rica had ever seen. He wasn’t the scrawny short kid she and her friend Natalie had known for so long. He was tall and cute now; it’s funny how a year can change a persons mind. Natalie was always talking about Todd these days. Todd had asked Natalie out to the movies. Rica would never hear the end of it.

  Rica brushed her long hair behind her ear as she pulled the notebook out of her locker. The corner of the notebook got stuck on another book and everything in her locker tumbled to the floor. Rica kicked the locker in frustration. She was sure someone had invented lockers to vex students. With quick angry movements she grabbed everything and started to shove it back into the small space. Then sat back on her heels and took a deep breath telling herself to breathe. Just breath. Rica could feel her face was flushed and tried to calm down. She reorganized everything and put it back neatly so she could find it later.

  The notes she was looking for were not where she had thought they would be. Where had she put them? THINK! Then she remembered they were on her desk at home. Great just fantastic one more thing she had messed up today. Rica mentally kicked herself. Well she could get the last little reference note and then catch the bus. She looked at her watch. She had twenty minutes until her bus left, and she had plenty of time.

  Time is a funny thing. Sometimes it feels like it fly’s, sometimes like it’s set in stone and doesn't move at all. Other times, well it plays tricks on you. Today was one of those tricky days. Rica didn't feel rushed. She was calm as she worked and felt like she was in control. She was sitting at a back table behind some bookshelves that reached to the ceiling. There were no windows near her, just the soft library lights and the hum of the air vents. Rica didn't hear the bell. When the lights went off she thought the power had gone out. She called out “Mrs. O’Neil?” no answer.

  Rica dug the little flashlight out of her backpack. She always carried one. She flicked it on and looked at her watch. Six o’clock! That cannot be right! Rica started to feel a little panicky as she went to the library counter and no one was there. She walked out into the hall; it was dim only the night lights were on. She heard a noise to her left that made her jump. She forced herself to listen. It sounded like something being pushed along the floor, and keys. She cautiously walked in the direction the noise had come from.

  Mr. Connell, the janitor, was pushing an empty mop bucket down the hall toward the Janitors Closet. He turned and jumped as he saw Rica standing there. “OH, you scared the be jiggers out of me! What are you still doing here?” He said in a gruff voice. Rica quickly explained what had happened. Mr. Connell nodded his head and told Rica she could use the phone to call her parents. They walked to the office where he unlocked the door and turned the light on.

  Rica dialed the number and waited, and waited “You have reached the Simpson residence please leave a message at the tone” her own voice mocked her. She hung up in frustration and tried to call her dads cell phone, out of service, Mom’s phone was out of service also. Rica looked up at the grizzled janitor. He always kept to himself; some of the kids liked to play pranks on him because he was a Vietnam vet and thought it was funny to make him react. She would never forget the time one of the senior boys put a flash bang firework in the garbage can right behind Mr. Connell. The janitor dropped to the floor and covered his head. The stupid kid had been suspended. But Rica always wondered if Mr. Connell had come back from the war sane. Rica remembered her mother saying it was posttraumatic stress or something like that.

  “I can’t get a hold of my parents!” Rica said as she hung up the phone.

  Mr. Connell grunted, “Must be the storm.”

  The rain was falling steadily outside when she looked. Rica wrinkled her nose at the weather, then pulled on her lightweight purple coat and put the hood up. She would have to walk home.

  “If you wait about thirty minutes I could give you a lift home, it’s no trouble.” With concern in his eyes, he added. “It’s a dark night to be out walking in this.”

  “No its ok I’ll go over to Natalie house. I’ll be ok. Its not like I’ll melt or anything its only water.” Rica replied. As she walked out the doors into the rain she remembered, Natalie was at the movies tonight with Todd. She would have to walk home. Thunder rolled overhead as she hunched into the light wind and started the long walk home. Two miles wasn't that far, right? She mentally kicked herself for getting so wrapped up in the library. “I wish it would stop raining!” She thought to herself. As she walked the rain slowed and finally stopped. But she was soaked and miserable when that happened and didn't notice. All she wanted at that moment was to be warmer. The air steamed off the now wet cloths she wore and off the pavement. Fog started to move in.

  Rica decided to take a short cut up the hill past the old Pickerton farm. She had gone that way millions of times so she knew the way well. She just wanted to get out of her wet clinging cloths and into a warm bath. This had been the worst week ever. The fog thickened. Rica took her little flashlight out and flicked it on. The light bounced back at her as it hit the fog. It was like walking in a clinging white cotton ball. Rica directed the light at the ground at least she would be able to see where she was walking. Even with the light it was hard to see the trees now and they were close. Maybe she should go back to the road. But as she turned around every thing looked different and Rica didn’t know which way to go. Ok everyone says to sit down and wait for rescue if you are lost in the woods. “But no one knows you went this way, and on top of that no one knows you missed the bus, idiot. What, I’m talking to myself now? Great I’m going crazy!” Her voice sounded hollow in the fog, and too loud. Rica jumped at the sound of it.

  Rica stopped and thought back to when she had been here before. She knew she had to go up the hill and there was only one hill near to the farm that had trees and that hill merged into the forest where there was a cabin. N
atalie and her had played at that cabin when they were in grade school. It was a place she knew well. Her father used to use the cabin when hunting season came around and sometimes would stay there over night with her and her mother. Maybe she could get there and get out of this fog and wet. Yes, that was the best plan; she had to get to the cabin. With new hope she continued on. She heard a thump off in the fog somewhere. She stopped. Had she heard something or was her imagination running away with her? She waited. After a minute and no other sounds came to her she shrugged and continued up the hill, pushing on the tree next to her and brushing the wet branches out of the way.

  She had taken only a few steps when she heard “Thump Thump” sort of a muffled sound like a drum and sparks? She caught her breath and stopped, unconsciously crouching. THUMP fizzle spark. There it was again, and something else too, it sounded like people yelling. Rica tried to look through the dense cloyingly wet mist to see but it was too dark and the fog to thick. The sound of the people yelling gave her hope. Maybe they had a car and could get her out of here.

  “Hello!” Rica yelled.

  “Is anyone there?” When no one responded Rica shrugged, maybe