When All is Null and Void

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Danielle returned a few hours later, and Alexander once again made himself scarce. The disapproval at bringing Danielle into their world wasn't blatant so much as it was palpable, hanging in the air like a judgmental blanket. Caleb didn't think Danielle noticed; her excitement was simply blind to it all. She seemed to glow with the joy of having discovered something more beautiful than gold.

The only reason she left that evening was a frantic text message from her mom.

"Mom's having a Tiny Town crisis. I swear if Karen broke again..." she trailed off.

"Who's Karen?" Alexander asked. He was standing in the doorway with two pizzas as Danielle gathered her jacket and threw on her boots before rocketing out the door.

"You can meet her sometime if she's not dead," Danielle called out.

+++

"I don't think I want to meet Karen from Tiny Town," Alexander said later in the afternoon after Caleb had explained what he and Danielle had discussed earlier. They'd scarfed down two pizzas, and only one piece remained, and Caleb happily took it when Alexander yielded. "Also, who sets up their Christmas decorations so late in December?"

Caleb glanced at his mentor. "What do you call us?"

"Busy."

Caleb plucked a piece of pepperoni off the pizza and smirked. "Sure," he said. "She's been busy planning some sort of city-wide Christmas celebration. And you haven't met Mrs. Baker. She told me last week if she could convince Mr. Baker to buy a Santa suit her life would be complete."

"No she did not," Alexander deadpanned. The cheese on his last, uneaten slice of pizza slid off onto his plate, as if shocked and appalled at such an idea.

Caleb widened his eyes and nodded slowly, "Oh yes. She did."

"I forbid you from going over there again. She might make you into an elf or something."

Caleb frowned morosely. "Too late," he said. "She already ordered me a pair of green tights."

"You're lying."

"If only."

Alexander picked up an uneaten black olive—neither of the two savored black olives, so their very existence on the pizza in the first place had made no sense—and threw it at Caleb, who dodged it with precision and grace. "If you throw another olive at me, I'm going to beg to be an elf in her fundraiser."

"You wouldn't." Alexander's feigned horror seemed a little too real.

"I would." Caleb would do no such thing, of course. He had no big dreams to be an elf, and the very thought of Mrs. Baker even bringing the idea up—she'd called him perfect—had rankled his pride. He wasn't that short. Danielle had even said so and had dissuaded her mom from asking about it again.

Caleb and Alexander bantered back and forth a little while longer, and then fell into silence as they both opened books. Caleb was reading Danielle's AP US History book, not because he particularly wanted to, as it was absurdly boring, but Alexander had told him an effective Timewalker knew history. And starting with your own was a smart idea.

He had copious notes, despite the fact he'd spent so much time learning about US history while in school back at home, because Alexander tended to check them from time to time. He would add bits of information unable to be gleaned from the dry pages of the textbook. "My friend Archibald was the one to help him out of that bathtub. Probably still has PTSD from it." They read until late evening, until the heaters kicked off and both Caleb and Alexander were slumped and sleepy in their chairs.