The next week flew by, and Borgos swore I'd never been happier. My grades began to pick up, and Clarissa handed in her mythology essay.
She got 97%, an A+.
"Of course, I didn't do it all on my own," she grinned at me, and squeezed my hand.
"Oh, c'mon, I didn't do anything, it was all you," I grinned back.
Finally it was the night of the Harvest Dance, and I still had 30 minuets to go before I went to pick up Clarissa. I swear it was the longest 30 minuets of my life! I was already ready, wearing one of Borgos' tuxes, which in my opinion, made me look like some kind of penguin. My spiky hair didn't help either...and neither did Borgos, who insisted I looked like a cross between a hedgehog and a penguin.
Jerk.
I was pacing back and forth in the living room, and glancing at my watch
nervously. I swear it was broken; the minute hand seemed to take an eternity to move.
Damn watch.
Borgos, who was trying to watch Malcolm in the Middle, finally got fed up with me pacing and mumbling to myself about watches being a conspiracy to drive kids insane and shouted; "For crying out loud, Ace! Stop wearing holes in the carpet and sit down, boy! You pissing me off isn't going to get you anywhere faster except an emergency room!"
I sat down beside him with a grunt...and was back where I was 2 minutes later; pacing in front of the TV. Sighing dramatically, Borgos switched off the TV, seeming to have come to the conclusion that he wasn't going to get to enjoy his show until I was gone. "Ace, breathe. You've got 10 minutes left. You'll survive."
"10 minutes!?" I practically squeaked the answer in agony.
Borgos cringed, "I thought you finished sounding like a damn mouse at 12."
"Shut up." I continued pacing.
Borgos watched me pace in silence. The only other sound than our breathing and my feet padding softly on the carpet was the ticking of the clock hanging on the corner of the wall. Ticking very slowly...very, very slowly.
I swear the battery was dying, and when I suggested this to Borgos he rolled his eyes at me. Time slowed the closer it got to when I was supposed to pick up Clarissa.
Finally after centuries of torturous ticking, the clock reluctantly chimed 7:30.
I dashed out of the door, ignoring Borgos' gleeful exclamation of "yippee, the lunatic's gone!"
I practically jogged down the hall to Clarissa's room, and knocked on the door. Vaguely, I heard her yell through the door "It's open; I'll just be a minute longer!"
I stepped inside and waited; suddenly self-conscious again...did I really look okay? What if Borgos had planned some elaborate prank on me, and there was a splotch of red paint on the back of my suit? What if my hair was greasy? What if I really did look like a cross between a hedgehog and a penguin?
Clarissa's appearance stopped any thoughts skirting through my head though.
She wore a simple black dress that emphasized the square shape of her shoulders, and had a single little black satin bow on the dress' empire waist. She had black leather heels on, and her hair hung in loose curls which cascaded down her back. Her brown eyes were framed by dark lashes.
Wow.
I guess I'd been gaping, because she gave me an odd look and asked, "What? Don't you like it? I know I don't usually wear much make-up but I thought I'd dress up for once..."
"No, no. You look well...stunning," I managed, "Ready to go?"
"I am, but I'm not so sure about you," she grinned, "and thanks."
I led her out the door and walked to the cafeteria. At least, it was where the cafeteria was supposed to be.
Whoever was in charge of setting the place up should have received major props. I hardly recognized the place. The awful tables were gone, and the floor had been polished until it shone. There was a large disco ball in the middle of the ceiling, chasing dancing lights across the floor and walls. A small table with refreshments had been conveniently placed to the side along with some private small round tables, and there were little Christmas lights woven along the pillars. A DJ was blasting some music, and people were already beginning to dance. The doors to the courtyard were open too, and I could just make out a few more lights threaded into the branches of the trees.
"It's really pretty, isn't it?" Clarissa smiled, "very different from the usual atmosphere in here during the day."
"Yea," I managed, "very different."
Before long, the room was packed. Despite being somewhat anti-social, I must admit I enjoyed myself. By the time the clock chimed 12:30am, and Clarissa and I were laughing and a little flushed. I walked Clarissa to her dorm, promising to see her tomorrow for a lunch date. As she unlocked her door, she paused, and turned to look at me.
"Ace?"
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted you to know, that I had a really good time tonight."
"Me too."
"So, I'll meet you at your dorm tomorrow, around noon, and then we can go out for lunch?"
I nodded, and she paused, staring at me. Quickly, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down for a quick kiss. When we pulled apart, we were both blushing.
"I'll see you at noon tomorrow, Ace." She said, before pulling me back down again one last time.
"Y-yeah, noon." I managed, running a hand through my hair. She gave me one last quick kiss and a wink before reluctantly disappearing behind her door.
I practically bounced back to my dorm, and then got ready for bed. Luckily, Borgos was asleep, so I was excused from his usual nagging questions. I was just about to turn out the lights when a buzzing sound stopped me. I froze for a moment, listening to see if Borgos had woken up, but was greeted by the sound of his snoring. I looked down at my bedside table, and discovered the culprit of the buzzing.
My cell phone.
Or, more accurately, the Z-Phone.
I'd been using the Z-Phone as my cell phone, since it had the same features. Borgos, who'd broken his phone a few weeks ago, was thrilled to receive my old one. I glanced down at the phone, and was relieved that the text wasn't from John, but Clarissa.
Hey Ace, just wanted 2 tell u I ♥ u.
I grinned and typed a reply;
♥ u 2. See you 2morrow @ noon. Night.
I turned off the light after checking for any missed messages. Of course, there were none, since the only people I ever called or text were Borgos and Clarissa. I was just about to doze off 10 minutes later when the Z-Phone buzzed again. I flipped it open as the eerie blue light danced across my fingertips. I scanned the message and groaned.
Ace;
This is John. We've located the second crystal and will be here to pick you up in 20 minutes. We'll meet you just past the forest like last time. Your teachers and any assignments will be taken care of. Tell no one.
I briefly wondered how they knew I'd be up at 1 in the morning, and quickly began throwing clothes into my backpack. Hurriedly, I scribbled a note to Borgos, explaining to him that I had another job interview out of town and that I'd probably be back in a few days. I was going to have to think of better excuses.
Soundlessly, I shut the door, hearing the soft click of the lock behind me. I began sprinting towards the forest, realizing that I wouldn't be able to go on that lunch date with Clarissa after all. Damn. I'd have to text her first thing tomorrow morning. I cursed under my breath.
When I finally neared the forest, the unmistakable sound of propellers greeted me. A large airship was there, and I slowly began my ascent of the rope ladder they threw down to me. My hair whipped wildly around my face as I stared up at the ship. It was huge. It glinted in the moonlight, like a large silent monster constructed of metal. There were at least 30 windows, and I saw a runway that looked as though it could be used for two airplanes. With dread, I reached the top and was ushered into a fancy plush room. I declined any drinks, and sat down in a matching plush arm chair, propping my feet on the antique end-table beside it without a second thought. I didn't have too long to survey my surroundings, because John walked in 5 minutes later.
"Good evening, Ace. Or should I say, good morning?" he chuckled.
"How'd you even know I'd be awake at this hour, mate?" I questioned.
"I'm not that old, Ace. What kind of teenage boy goes to bed before 1am on a Friday night?"
"Good point. Now, I believe you owe me an explanation as to why I'm here?"
"Ah, right," John began, "as you know, we've located the second crystal."
"I see that."
"Well, according to our research, this one probably won't be purple, but perhaps a blue or even bright orange colour."
"We're on a hunt for rainbow crystals?"
"They have slightly different kinds of energy, so that affects their colour. Just as different elements have different coloured flames," John stated.
"Quit with the science lesson. Where is it, what do I have to do to get it, and when do I get back to school?"
"We're not exactly sure how long it'll take," John paused thoughtfully, "but we think you'll be done within the next week or two. As for the location, it's in a cave."
"A cave...?"
"Yes, a cave. And you'll be happy to hear there is no fire involved this time."
"Yippee," I said sarcastically.
"There is a catch though," John paused as I groaned, "the cave is..."
"Just be blunt," I whined.
"...at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean." John finished.
"Are you freaking kidding me?"
"No...I'm afraid I'm not 'kidding you,' Ace. However, we won't arrive for another day or two, and I think you need your sleep. Your chamber is the one you acquired on your last mission, down the hall. We'll go over the details tomorrow. Until then, get some rest." John said, getting up.
I took the hint and slung my backpack over my shoulder and began the slow march to my room. Before I went to bed, I texted Clarissa telling her how sorry I was, but that I was going to have to cancel our lunch date for tomorrow. As I slid into my bed, I realized that maybe this job was going to be a little more trouble than I'd originally thought.
The next two days passed by in a bit of a blur. I won't go over the details, but basically I was going to receive another suit like the one I got last time, except this one would protect me from the water, and not fire. I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about just how deep this underwater cave was. According to George and 'the geek squad,'-or so I'd nicknamed them- I'd be going down about 5000 miles. Fantastic, eh?
They brought the fancy-pants airship because John wanted me to get used to being under the water in the suit I was going to be wearing. Can you believe there's this huge deep swimming pool on this thing? Screw the house, when I graduate university, I'm buying myself an airship.
Anyway, I've been in and out of the water a lot. The 'spaceman suit,' as I like to call it, is actually pretty agile, so I can move around in it quickly and stuff. Not like the slow ones you see on TV. But I guess when you have top-secret military/government connections and a crap load of money; you can design some pretty sweet stuff. They're pretty confident that the suit will survive the water pressure, and somehow they've designed it so I can last a good week without needing to resurface for an air re-fill. They've also added holes for my wings and tail, so I can swim faster. Anyway, George told me they've already dropped the suit into the Atlantic and left a monkey in there for a week for another mission before I came along, so he said there's no danger of me drowning. I'm not a fan of animal testing, but I feel a bit better knowing they've tested this thing at least once before they drop me in the ocean. The only good thing about this mission is John said Damien isn't coming, so I don't have to endure his charming company for the duration of the mission.
Overall, I guess I should be more worried about this whole 5000 meters under the sea thing, but it's kind of funny what love does to you. See, I'm more worried about how I'm going to survive the week - at least, I hope it's only a week - without Clarissa. She texted me back today saying that it's fine that I had to cancel, and that she hopes everything is alright. I told her my cousin was sick, and that I got an urgent phone call so I was taking the bus up to where she lives a few hours away. I just hope she buys it...
Clarissa:
I looked down at the text message and felt my heart drop.
Hey. I'm rly sorry but I can't meet you 2day for lunch. I got an urgent call last night after I got in saying my cuz is rly sick. I'm taking the bus to her place a few hours away. I'll probably be gone all week. Sorry, ♥ u lots.
Love,
Ace.
Of course I'd already replied, and I understand but I really was looking foreword to seeing him. Oh well. I set aside the outfit I'd picked out for today and settled for jeans and a sweater instead. How on Earth was I going to live without him for a week? Ugh, it felt like torture. Already it wasn't even quite noon yet and I was going crazy. I couldn't even paint for crying out loud, and that's saying something! I sighed in defeat. I had a few friends, but I'd just come to this school a little while ago, and the only people I really felt comfortable around so far were Ace and Borgos.
Borgos.
After looking in the mirror for the last time and fixing my curly hair into a low, loose ponytail, I wondered whether or not Borgos would mind some company. After all, it was Saturday and he probably had something fun to do. Whatever, it was better than moping around all day.
10 minutes later I knocked on Borgos' door.
"Oh, hey Clarissa. Ace isn't here right now."
"That's okay. Can I come in anyway?"
"Sure, I guess..."
He opened the door and I stepped inside, "Any news from him this morning?"
"No, I'm sure he's busy not preparing for his interview though. Knowing Ace, he's probably asleep on the bus or something," Borgos grinned.
"Interview...?" But...hadn't he said his cousin was sick?
"Yeah, some interview out of town. No idea why he'd go for an interview out of town, but it must pay well. Probably some part-time job he's looking for over Christmas break or something," Borgos said, shrugging.
"But...he told me he was going to spend the week with his cousin, who's really sick."
"Cousin? Uhh, are you sure that's what he said?" Borgos asked, narrowing his eyes slightly in a confused look.
"Positive!" I said, and showed him the text I'd gotten for emphasis.
"Well I'll be damned. Wonder what the boy's up too..."
"What do you mean?"
"Ace doesn't have any family, Clarissa. At all."
"What?!" Now I was just confused...why would he lie to me?
"So, the real question is: what's he hiding?" Borgos inquired, scratching his head, "It's not like him to disappear so suddenly...and lie to both of us."
"Do you think he's okay? Wherever he is?"
"I hope so...but I still wonder why he wouldn't just tell us where he's going. It doesn't make sense...he's never lied to me. Oh well, maybe he just needed some time alone or something, or just wanted to get out of town for a bit. I wouldn't worry about it."
I sat down on the couch. Despite Borgos blowing it off as Ace just wanting an excuse to get out of town, I could tell he was worried too. The façade appeared to be solely for my benefit. Finally after 10 minutes of contemplating what to do, we settled on playing Mario Kart but I still couldn't shake the odd feeling I was getting that something wasn't quite right. What could be so important that he couldn't tell us? Throughout our game, a single thought continued to chase through my head;
What're you hiding, Ace Draconis?