Dance of the Moons

Chapter 6

            I nearly groaned, imagining myself parading some old man—although to be fair I didn’t know Christopher Brown’s age—around campus, to my classes, as he passed judgment upon me, my university, and all my friends.  No, I really didn’t want to take him to school with me.

            “As for work,” Jacquie continued, interrupting my thoughts, “bring him with you.  He may like to sit and enjoy being in the café every once in a while.  He could get to know the people in town.  Remember,” she added, “this is only until he feels comfortable in town.”

            “Yeah,” I muttered to myself at the ambiguous phrase, “comfortable.”

            “And you could learn a lot from him too.”

            “Mmm,” I mumbled, having no words to actually reply with.

            Jacquie waved her hand dismissively in the air. “Now get back to work.  Go help your cousin with customers.”

            I nodded, glad for the dismissal, and turned around.  The door shut automatically behind me as I made my way back to the counter.  Shay was helping the sole customer in line and I started tidying the counter behind him, where the machines and foods were stored.

            “What did Aunt Jacquie want?” he asked at soon as the customer left.

            I shrugged. “She wanted me to guide the English witch around until he feels comfortable in town.”

            Shay whistled. “Big job, cousin.  Hope you can handle the pressure.”  He snickered at his fib.

            I glared at him. “Shut up.”

            He laughed and turned to help the next customer in line.  I continued to clean the back counter.  I pulled crumbs off the counter, into my hand, and walked over to throw the crumbs into the trash.  I repeated this three times before Shay walked back over.

            “So what’s the deal with this guy anyway?” he asked.

            I shrugged and didn’t look up from the counter, which I was still de-crumbing.  “I don’t know.  I haven’t been told much.”

            “Well,” he pressed, “what do you know?”

            I turned briefly to Shay and frowned. “His name is Christopher Brown, he’s from a coven somewhere in England, and he’s going to be staying at my house for a while.”

            “I know all this.  I mean, what else do you know.”

            I shrugged. “That’s it, Shay.  That’s all I know. Oh,” I added, suddenly remembering my Jacquie’s words, “he went to Brustolen.”

            He whistled, recognizing the big name. “He must be either really talented, or rich.”

            I frowned again, feeling my eyebrows pull together slightly. “I was told he’s talented and powerful.”

            “Then what the heck is he doing coming here?”

            I looked at him, eye to eye. “That,” I said with emphasis, “is the big money question.”

            I sat at a desk in the university library, three walls around the edges of the desk closing me off from the rest of the people in the large room.  I enjoyed using the study cubicle because I could focus on my homework, or studying, without the distractions of people mulling about the open library chamber.  Also, no one ever bothered you at a cubicle.  My friend Hannah once told me it was because everyone was “in the zone” in the cubicles, and people knew not to interrupt that.  For whatever reason, I liked the pseudo-solitude the study desk provided.