Ryan sat at his desk in his room and turned his tablet on. He typed "Adam Dar Tenian" in the search engine and a list of articles appeared.
He scrolled through them and found "Adam Dar Tenian's Early Years". He read:
Adam David Phillips was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to farm owners David and Julie Phillips. His younger brother and only other sibling, Alex Peter Phillips sang with him in the church choir when Adam was ten and Alex was eight.
They studied piano at Finley Middle School in Tulsa and worked at Sippers to afford voice lessons at Winde Music Institute in Oklahoma City.
Adam and Alex taught themselves to play electric guitar and began writing songs. They performed at local bars and clubs as "The Roaders" and later moved to Chicago, Illnois.
They met bass guitar, player, Billy Stewart at Club Xsight in Chicago and auditioned drummer, Roger Vines there.
They formed a band called "Ravengame" after inviting high-school friend and electric guitar, player, Steve Fields. Adam sang lead and Alex played lead guitar.
Ravengame played at Fhur Room in Galapos Casino at Menagerie Hotel in Chicago and met lead guitar, player, Neil Stone there.
After failing to get a record deal with Rimmer Records in Chicago, Alex quit the band and moved back home, using his gig money to open a small, coffee shop in Aurora, Illinois.
Adam invited Neil to replace Alex and named the five-man band, Dar Tenian. Due to aesthetic reasons, he changed his last name.
Adam and Neil wrote songs together and "Sexy Girl" attracted a legion of female fans. Soon, Dar Tenian signed with Weiss Records in Los Angeles.
Ryan stopped reading.
He typed in "Alex Peter Phillips" and "Ravengame" in the search engine. He scrolled through all the articles and found pictures of the band. One picture of Adam and Alex leaning against a bar caught his eye. Alex resembled the man who bought the book. He looked like the man at the driver's wheel in his vision and stood a little shorter than Adam.
He typed "Alex Peter Phillips", "cafe" and "Aurora" in the search engine and scrolled through all the articles, but none named the cafe he owned.
Miss Aldridge washed dishes at the sink in the kitchen and Grace talked quietly on the phone in her room.
Mr. Ross napped in a soft recliner in the living room with a paper plate in his lap covered with chocolate cake, crumbs.
Ryan leaned over him and pulled the smartphone out of his shirt pocket, turning it on. A password request popped up and Ryan sighed, slipping the phone back in his pocket.
---
In Homeroom, Ryan slipped Shantel a note. She read it:
Thank you for Thanksgiving.
I need to come over today.
Will you be there?
Ryan
"I'll be home," she said.
---
Ryan sat on Shantel's bed and told her everything. She listened at her desk carefully. He noticed a bar of soap wrapped in pink paper on her bedside table. She admired the Thanksgiving card Ryan gave her and slipped it under her tablet.
"Is the soap for the hemjow?" he asked.
"Yes, I made an appointment for it."
"Good."
"What will happen if you tell your mom you snooped in her file cabinet?" asked Shantel.
"I don't know. If she doesn't want me to know who my father is, I don't want to ask her."
"I understand," she said. "So, what do you want to do?"
"Find out what cafe Alex Peter Phillips owns."
"And if you find him, what are you going to do about it?"
"Ask him why he cares about me so much. Is he my dad?"
"If he is your dad, you realize you're related to Adam Dar Tenian."
"I deserve to know. You'd want to know."
"Not necessarily," she said. "It may be dangerous."
"Why?"
"Awful people hurt famous people all the time, wanting money or revenge. You might become collateral."
"What should I do?"
"Send a friend to ask him about you instead."
"I haven't told anyone about him except you."
"Precisely."
She typed "Aurora State Businesses" in the search engine of her tablet and clicked on "Proprietors". She scrolled through the long list.
"The businesses are listed in alphabetical order. I have to check all of them until I find one owned by Alex Peter Phillips."
"Okay," said Ryan.
"A cafe can have any name."
Mr. Ross blew the car horn outside at five, forty-five and Ryan closed Shantel's bedroom door.
---
Counselor Jones messaged Ryan with available appointments to meet with an angelkin of the Ergbear Phylum for the mimlock.
Ryan chose one and messaged back.
In an hour, Chris Simmons messaged him, asking for a confirmation for an appointment with him tomorrow at seven pm. Ryan clicked "Confirm".
---
Shantel found Ryan at his locker and slipped him a note. He read it:
No one named Alex Peter
Phillips owns a business in
Aurora. He must've changed
his name. I'll look into it.
Shantel
---
Mr. Ross dropped Ryan off at Sloan's house.
Ryan sat near him at his desk and he turned his tablet on.
"This is my first gig as a professional singer and I'm feeling all kinds of weird stuff right now," said Sloan.
A message popped up on the screen:
Counselor Richardson is inviting you to join him and Carmina Fuentes for your employment appointment as angelkin OkeRbluFr721.
Sloan accepted.
Two windows opened. Counselor Richardson sat at a desk and a Latin American girl and woman sat on an orange throw on a brown couch in a small, living room.
"Good afternoon, Carmina," said Counselor Richardson. "How are you?"
"I'm okay," she said, speaking with a Spanish accent.
"It's six pm here in New York and three pm in Arizona. Am I correct?"
"Yes," said Carmina."
"And is that your mother?"
"Yes."
"Hi, Mrs. Fuentes. How are you today?"
"I'm fine, thank you," she said with a Spanish accent.
"Great. Carmina, this is Sloan Olsen and he's an angelkin of the Okehawk Phylum. He's going to banish your phantic."
"Thank you," said Carmina.
"Sloan, I see you invited Ryan for support," said Counselor Richardson. "Hi, Ryan. One person - that's okay." Sloan nodded.
"Alright, Carmina," said Counselor Richardson. "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Sloan, take it away," he said.
"I'm singing 'Way Sayer' by The Event," said Sloan.
He took a royal-blue, crystal quartz from his desk drawer and placed it near the tablet, turning on a small, CD player on the desk. He slipped a pair of connecting headphones on, listening to the beginning of "Way Sayer" by The Event.
He pressed pause before the first verse and pulled off the headphones.
Sloan sang Acapella and Mrs. Fuentes clapped her hands supportively. He sang clearly and loudly in a crisp voice.
At the end of the song, Carmina breathed out in a long exhale and smiled. Her mother clapped briskly.
Counselor Richardson put a pair of glasses on with blue shades. "I don't see the phantic. It's gone. Good job, Sloan."
Sloan smiled widely.
"Alright, Carmina, do you have any questions?"
"No. Thank you, Sloan," she said.
"And you, Mrs. Fuentes, any questions?"
"Oh, no," she said. "That song sounded so good."
"If you need another appointment, please wait thirty days from now and message me. If you'd like to make a donation, you can send it electronically on the website or mail it."
"Okay," said Mrs. Fuentes. "Thank you, Counselor Richardson."
"Take care," he said and ended the appointment. "Thanks, Sloan. Goodnight, boys." His window on the tablet closed.
A message popped up with a monetary amount on it:
Angelkin OkeRbluFr721,
The amount above has been credited to your angelkin card ending in 6542 from Tier One Bank. For more information log on to www.eljorian.org/angelkincard.
"Sweet," said Sloan, opening a black wallet on his dresser. "I just got this card in the mail yesterday."
He showed it to Ryan and the gold, money card looked like a credit card with an expiration date and a series of embossed numbers on the front.
A composite picture of a polar bear, gray wolf, brown hawk, adult alligator and honey bee designed the front of the card with a gold chip in the bottom corner. An iridescent graphic shaped like a head and neck with a halo above it shimmered on the back.
"Wow, that's pretty cool. It's nice money for singing," said Ryan. "That's what my grandmother gives me on my birthday."
"To me, it's a fortune," said Sloan.
"So those letters and numbers are your employee numbers?"
"Yeah."
"'Oke' means Okehawk, 'R-blu' means royal blue and what's 'Fr-seven twenty-one' for?"
"The day of the week I was born and my birthday."
"What if there's an angelkin out there just like that?"
"There isn't, but they add your initials at the end if they need to."
"I wish I could sing too."
"Sing now."
Ryan sang "Who I Am", but trailed off in-between.
"You're tired or upset about something. Is it about being adopted?"
"Sort of," said Ryan.
"Um, you need to train with someone who keeps you focused. You told me Shantel sings. Is she any good?"
"I don't know. She won't sing for me."
"But can you sing for her?"
"No, not yet," said Ryan.
"Can you take her constructive criticism?"
"I can take anything from her except rejection."
---
Mrs. Olsen made two, grilled cheese sandwiches at the stove. She put them on paper plates, adding a handful of barbecue, potato chips and a dill pickle to each.
Sloan ate the sandwich hungrily at the kitchen table, but Ryan ate slowly.
Mr. Olsen dropped Ryan off at home and Grace let him in.
Mr. Ross watched the evening news in the living room and Grace went in Ryan's bedroom, sitting with him at his desk.
Counselor Jones messaged him on his tablet.
He accepted and she and Chris Simmons appeared in the opened windows. She sat at her table at home and Chris stood in a small bedroom wearing a white T-shirt and jeans with blonde hair at his shoulders.
He sang "Much More" by Dar Tenian, sounding fierce and Ryan exhaled with a long breath.
"Thanks, Chris," said Counselor Jones, wearing her jimels with yellow shades. "The mimlock's gone and the phantic is no longer attached to you."
"My friend, Sloan banished it," said Ryan. "He just joined Eljorian."
"Good," said Counselor Jones. "The phantic is off permanently."
"I wish I could get rid of the mimlock permanently," said Ryan.
"It might not come back," she said. "But you can't wait until you get it again. Your aura shined reddish when Chris sang. You may be an angelkin of the Ergbear Phylum. Did you take the questionnaire?"
"No," said Ryan, lying.
"Why not?"
"I'm afraid to."
"Why?" she asked.
"I've been seeing things lately," said Ryan.
"Are you clairvoyant?"
"Yes," said Ryan. "I see things in visions and they happen."
"You have a psychic gift. You may be a messenger angelkin. They're rare."
"Okay."
"Can you sing?"
"A little," said Ryan.
"No matter how you join, you can do the ritual alone," said Counselor Jones.
"What's the ritual like?"
"You write the name of the proprietary on a piece of paper. Then follow the instructions on the 'Angelkin Rituals' page on the website."
"There's the angelkin retreat," said Chris. "We stay at a hotel in Hawaii. Counselor Elmund banishes all Ergbear proprietaries permanently there."
"You have to pay for it and bring a parent," said Counselor Jones.
"If you know an angelkin that can sing Hard Rock songs, that person can sing to you in person and banish the mimlock for good," said Chris.
"I don't," said Ryan.
"If the mimlock comes back, you'll need another appointment, Ryan," said Counselor Jones.
"Okay," said Ryan.
"Good luck, Ryan," said Chris.
"Thanks, Chris," said Ryan.
"Good night, Ryan and Miss Aldridge," said Counselor Jones and she ended the appointment.
"Why are you afraid to tell her you're an ergbear," said Grace. "I'm an acebee like you said."
"I don't want to audition 'til I'm good enough and I want to be employed. Ergbears make up seven percent of angelkins, burwolves - thirteen, okehawks - twenty, tergators - twenty-seven and acebees - thirty-three. They're in demand and I can make good money."
"You need to hang around Fortune Five for inspiration. Shawn's working at their after-party at Galapos Casino this weekend."
"They signed with Ray Loftstead . . . the drugger?"
"Don't worry. Shawn told Aaron all about him. His dad's with them all the time."
"We can't go to a casino."
"I have an idea," said Grace, smiling.