The missing mortals, p.21
The Missing Mortals, page 21
Almost a week later, the night of the ceremony arrived. Emma, Martha, and Doug were sitting in the general audience with the other inductees, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Emma looked around to see who some of the other inductees were. Most of the inductees were eighth graders, but there were some upperclassmen as well. Clarice and Reggie were sitting in the row behind them along with Doug’s roommates, Phil and Tom.
At seven o’clock on the dot, the society’s president mounted the steps to the stage and went to stand behind the podium. The current president of the Alpha-O’s was a senior boy named Nathan Boyd. Nathan had a narrow face with a long, pointed nose upon which rested a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. Emma noticed that he seemed to prefer looking over the top of his glasses rather than through them. Emma had seen him around but didn’t know him personally.
After explaining the tenants of the society to those assembled before him, he began calling the names of the inductees in alphabetical order. When Nathan had finished calling names and all the inductees were in position with a lit candle, he led them in repeating the society’s pledge. Mindlessly, Emma echoed the president’s words. Later, she vaguely remembered vowing to uphold the principles of the society. She had no idea what those principles were but felt certain that they would be explained fully to the new members at some later date.
“You may now blow out your candles and be seated,” Nathan told them after they had finished reciting the pledge. Dutifully, the new recruits obeyed.
Then the speaker for the event was introduced. Emma was surprised to hear that the speaker was going to be Mr. Criderman. She learned later that Mr. Criderman was the society’s new sponsor. Last year’s sponsor, Miss Culpepper, had retired.
Emma listened as Mr. Criderman congratulated them on being inducted into the Alpha-Omegas, but she didn’t hear anything he said after that. Her attention was thereafter focused on Bobby Wilcox. Bobby was sitting out in the audience in the second row. As the inductees were seated on the stage, the audience was now comprised solely of members of the faculty and students who were already members of the society. Current members of the society always attended the induction ceremony to help welcome the new members. At first Emma was surprised that Bobby was an Alpha-O, but when she thought about it, it made perfect sense. Bobby’s dad was a member of the school board. How would it look if a school board member’s son didn’t get selected to be a member of the school’s only honor society? Bobby may be mean, but he wasn’t stupid. However, it wasn’t her shock at learning that Bobby was an Alpha-O that kept her glancing back at him from time to time. It was the look of sheer hatred that he was shooting at Doug.
Emma looked over at Doug to see if he had noticed. Doug appeared to be totally oblivious, but Emma suspected it was just an act. A second later, Doug turned to her and inclined his head ever so slightly in Bobby’s direction. Emma nodded to indicate she’d seen him too. After that, she did her best to ignore the boy in the second row, and so did Doug. She spent the rest of Mr. Criderman’s speech worrying about what the looks Bobby was giving Doug might mean. What was Bobby up to now?
As soon as Mr. Criderman’s speech was over, Nathan once again went to the podium and invited everyone to partake of the refreshments. The new inductees needed no further encouragement but promptly stood and began filing off the stage. Emma and Doug went to stand in the line that had already formed by the cake table. Martha soon joined them. As they got closer to the table, Emma could see that the cake had been decorated in the light blue and gold colors of the society. The writing on the cake said simply “Congratulations New Alpha-O’s.” After they had each received a plate with a piece of the delicious-looking white cake on it, they went over to the punch table. With plate and cup in hand, they then threaded their way over to some chairs in the corner of the room.
Knowing that they would soon be joined by some of the other eighth-grade inductees, Martha used the brief time the three of them were alone to ask, “Why was Bobby Wilcox shooting daggers at Doug during Mr. Criderman’s speech?”
“So you noticed it too,” Emma responded quickly in surprise.
“It was kind of hard to miss,” Martha replied wryly. Then she gave an exaggerated shudder. “After a while, it started to give me the creeps.”
“He’s probably just trying to freak us out—you know, make us think he’s up to something,” Doug said in a tone that suggested he wasn’t at all concerned.
“Well, it’s working,” Martha muttered.
Emma was inclined to agree with Martha, but she could see that Clarice, Reggie, Phil, and Tom were on their way over to sit with them, so she didn’t say any more on the topic. Emma looked over at Doug. He had made it sound like he wasn’t at all worried about what Bobby may or may not be up to, but she wasn’t totally convinced. While he talked with Phil and Tom, she watched him closely. He appeared to be totally relaxed. With a sigh, Emma realized she’d never understand boys.
From time to time throughout the evening, current members of the society would come by to congratulate them. Bobby, however, stayed far away. Emma was relieved. She had been half afraid that he would come over and make a scene. She should have known that Bobby would know better than to start trouble with so many witnesses. He was much too clever for that.
Thirty minutes later, the party began to break up. Emma and Martha were ready to leave, but Doug was still talking with Phil and Tom. It was almost nine o’clock anyway, so the girls said a quick goodnight to the boys and made their way to the entrance.
As they were leaving, Martha whispered in Emma’s ear, “My feelings are hurt. Bobby didn’t come by to congratulate us.”
Emma looked at Martha and saw from the broad smile on her face that she was kidding.
“What are you two talking about?” Sebastian asked startling the two girls as they came out of the ballroom. He’d been waiting in the hallway for the party to get over.
“None of your business, Mr. Nosy Noserson,” Martha answered.
“Well, how was the party? From what I could see, it looked like a real exciting evening.”
Sebastian’s sarcasm was not lost on Martha. “The excitement comes later when we’re on the hayride. You’ll be sorry you didn’t get in then.”
“It won’t be as much fun without me,” Sebastian pointed out confidently.
Martha felt exactly the same way, but she wasn’t about to tell Sebastian that. His self-confidence made her angry, and she couldn’t resist the urge to goad him a bit. “I’ll just have to find someone else to have a good time with.”
Martha was sorry the minute the words were out of her mouth, and she would have taken them back if she could. Sebastian looked as if he’d just taken a knife to the heart. Without a word, he turned and walked away. Shocked at her own behavior, Martha stood where she was, looking miserable. Emma, who had witnessed the whole exchange, was momentarily at a loss for words. Her heart went out to Sebastian. He’d looked so hurt. She was about to tell Martha that this time she’d gone too far when Doug appeared.
“Martha, what’s wrong?” he asked when he saw the look on her face.
Martha didn’t answer but instead burst into tears and started running down the hall in the direction of the girls’ dorm. With an apologetic look at Doug, Emma hurried after Martha.
“I’ll tell you all about it later,” she called back over her shoulder as she ran.
With a shrug and a sigh, Doug headed in the opposite direction. As he walked, he wondered what in the world could have happened in the few short minutes he hadn’t been with the girls. He may not be able to ask Emma, but he was pretty sure Sebastian would know.
When Emma got to the room, Martha was lying on her bed on her stomach with her face buried in her pillow. Despite the muffling effect of the pillow, every now and then a sob could be heard. Emma took a quick look around the room and saw that, for now at least, she and Martha were alone. Susie was probably waiting for Clarice and Reggie in the lounge, but it wouldn’t be long before the two girls showed up. That didn’t give Emma much time to get Martha calmed down. With that thought in mind, Emma went over and sat down on the end of Martha’s bed. Martha rolled over and looked at Emma.
“You don’t h-have to s-say it!” Martha struggled to get out between sobs. “I know I sh-shouldn’t have s-said that to S-Sebastian. It’s just that he m-makes me so m-mad sometimes, I just lose control.” Martha began crying again in earnest, stopping only long enough to add, “I’m a horrible p-person.”
“No, you’re not,” Emma said, placing a hand on Martha’s shoulder. “If you were such a terrible person, you wouldn’t be feeling so badly now. Tomorrow, you’ll tell Sebastian you’re sorry, and things will be all right again.”
“What if h-he won’t forgive me this t-time? This will be the s-second time I’ve h-had to ask.”
“Sebastian is a good person. He’ll forgive you as many times as you ask. Just like God forgives us.” Emma was remembering the sermon Reverend Palmer had given just last Sunday. It had been a real eye opener for her. Reverend Palmer had told them that the Bible was very clear on the subject. We are to forgive others if we wish to receive God’s forgiveness. Martha must have remembered it as well because she began to calm down, her sobs reduced to intermittent hiccups. At Emma’s prompting, she got up and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. Not long after that, Clarice and Susie came in, so no more was said on the subject of Sebastian. As she got ready for bed, Emma prayed that she was right about Sebastian.
Martha had intended to apologize to Sebastian at the first opportunity, but it soon became clear that Sebastian was avoiding them. He didn’t sit with them at breakfast, lunch, or supper; and after the evening meal, he and Doug were nowhere to be found.
“Sebastian must really be mad at me,” Martha said as she glanced at the lounge entrance for the tenth time since she and Emma had come in. She was hoping that Sebastian would eventually make an appearance, but with only fifteen minutes until curfew, it seemed less and less likely.
The two girls had been sitting in the lounge playing Parcheesi for the last hour, but it had been obvious from the start that Martha’s mind was not on the game. She had needed a reminder from Emma to take another turn the last two times she had rolled doubles. When it happened a third time, Emma gave up with a sigh and began putting the game away.
“What are you doing?” Martha asked when she finally noticed. “The game isn’t over yet.”
“Oh yes, it is,” Emma replied kindly but firmly. “We are going to find Sebastian, so you can apologize and straighten this whole mess out.”
Martha nodded wordlessly. Nothing would suit her better. As soon as Emma had returned the game to the shelf where she’d gotten it, the two girls left the lounge and headed to the library. A quick look around the nearly empty room confirmed the boys weren’t in there. Next they went to the dining hall. Sometimes, students used the tables as desks to do their school work on, and although it wasn’t likely on a Friday night, maybe the boys were in there. When they opened the doors to the dining hall, however, they saw that it was completely empty.
“They could be in their room or outside,” Emma suggested. “We could ask someone to check their room for us.”
“Okay,” Martha agreed dismally. They were running out of time, and even if they did find the boys, there was no guarantee that Sebastian would be willing to talk to her.
Emma led the way back to the lounge where earlier she had seen Phil and Tom sitting at a table in the northwest corner of the room. Maybe they would know where Doug and Sebastian were. When they got to the lounge, Emma was relieved to see that Phil and Tom were still there. Quickly, she threaded her way over to them, while Martha remained by the door. Martha watched as Emma talked to Phil. A moment later, Emma was on her way back.
“Phil says the boys have gone up to see Doug’s dad and they’re planning on spending the night.”
“Well, that’s that then,” Martha said on the verge of tears. She had been hoping that by the end of the day things between her and Sebastian would be back to normal, but it was not meant to be.
Emma could see how distressed her friend was. In an attempt to console her, she put her arm around Martha’s shoulders and gave a little squeeze. “There’s always tomorrow,” she said gently. Then with a teasing smile, she added, “Sebastian can’t hide from us forever.”
Martha wasn’t so sure about that, but she said nothing as she let Emma lead her to their room. When the two girls arrived, they found Clarice and Susie sitting on their beds talking. They had entered just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation.
“I can’t believe you’re not going! It sounds like a lot of fun,” Susie was saying.
“What sounds like fun?” Emma couldn’t help asking.
“Clarice isn’t going on the Alpha-O hayride Friday night,” Susie exclaimed in an incredulous tone. If she had been a member of the society, she would have gone in a heartbeat. Thanks to Clarice’s cousin Preston, Susie had gotten to know several of the freshman boys, and she particularly liked Daniel Jacobs. Susie sighed dreamily as she pictured herself sitting next to him around a campfire.
“Why not?” Martha asked, forgetting her own misery for the moment and snapping Susie back to the present.
“Sitting in a filthy wagon on a scratchy bale of hay is not my idea of a good time,” Clarice responded defensively. “Reggie totally agrees with me.”
Emma was once again amazed at Clarice’s selfishness. Reggie probably would have enjoyed the hayride very much, but because of Clarice, he wasn’t going to go. Emma knew she would never be able to convince Clarice of that, so she said nothing. Besides, she couldn’t really feel too sorry for Reggie. He was going to miss out on a good time, but it was his own fault for not standing up to Clarice.
As Emma lay in bed that night, she found herself looking forward to the hayride and the school’s annual Octoberfest. She imagined sitting close beside Doug on a hay bale gazing at the stars as the wagon rolled slowly along. He might even try to kiss her again. Then her thoughts turned to the dance that would take place the next evening. Last year, she hadn’t gotten to dance with Doug a single time, but she was determined that this year was going to be different. If he didn’t ask her to dance, she would ask him. Emma fell asleep secure in the knowledge that nothing was going to keep her from dancing with Doug this Saturday.
The next morning, Emma and Martha decided that they’d better start studying for their midterm exams. The exams were slated to begin Monday and run through Friday. Because Emma and Martha had the same class schedule, they also had the same exam schedule, so they could study together.
Except for mealtimes, they didn’t see the boys. Emma just assumed they had decided to spend the entire weekend with Doug’s dad, staying in his suite on the third floor. Emma hated to admit it, but they probably wouldn’t have gotten as much studying done if Sebastian had been around. Martha must have felt the same way because she hadn’t once complained about the boys’ absence.
The girls’ exams went off without a hitch—even the art exam with Mr. Dubois hadn’t been too difficult. By the time Friday rolled around, Emma had to admit that she had been wrong about two things. First, Martha still hadn’t gotten the chance to apologize to Sebastian. All week long, the boys hadn’t come to sit with them at mealtimes, and they had mysteriously disappeared after supper each evening. By Friday, Martha was nearly at the end of her rope. As distressing as it was for Emma to see her friend so unhappy, the worst blow came Friday morning. Emma learned from Phil that Doug had been taken to the school nurse with a headache, sore throat, and high fever. It turned out that he had strep throat, and because his illness was so contagious, the nurse insisted that he stay isolated in the infirmary at least through Saturday. He would miss both the hayride and the Octoberfest dance. Emma was crushed. In one fell swoop all of her hopes and dreams for the weekend were dashed.
Emma dressed for the hayride that evening with little enthusiasm. She noticed that Martha was feeling down as well. What a pair we are. We’re going to be a lot of fun to be around tonight, Emma thought as she grabbed her jacket.
It had been a nice day, but this time of year, the evenings could be on the cool side, so in addition to her jacket, Martha was bringing a blanket to put over their legs. Susie sat on her bed and watched as the two girls got ready. She couldn’t help wishing once again that she could go too. Daniel Jacobs would be going on the hayride, and there was supposed to be a full moon that night. With a sigh, she told Emma and Martha to have fun.
“I wish you were coming,” Emma said and meant it. Susie really was a sweet girl. In spite of her own disappointment, Susie was hoping Emma and Martha had a good time.
“Me too,” Susie agreed wistfully. As the two girls started to leave, Susie stopped them. “Could you guys do me a favor?”
“Sure,” Emma answered. “What do you want us to do?”
Susie hesitated for a moment as if embarrassed. “Well, could you guys kind of keep an eye on Daniel Jacobs for me? You know, like who he sits with and stuff like that.”
“You mean if he sits with a girl?” Martha asked with a knowing look.
“Yeah.” Susie nodded.
By this time, Susie’s cheeks were two bright red spots. It was obvious that she had a major crush on Daniel. Emma wondered if Daniel knew that Susie liked him and, more importantly, if Daniel liked Susie in return. Emma hoped so for Susie’s sake.
“We’ll do our best,” Emma promised on her way out.
