Champions of Serenity :Gathering the Circle

Chapter Seven

The grass smelled sweet in Debra’s nose as she pushed the mower over it. Sometimes she wished her parents would get a riding mower, the yard was just so big, yet at times like these, she enjoyed the peace that came with being alone with the fresh scent of new cut grass. Off in the distance, she heard a car door shut, and then three more shut. She wasn’t sure if it was at her house, or one of the neighbors, but that didn’t matter much. She finished the last strip of lawn and bagged the clippings. Mom would use these in her garden for mulch.

“Debra!” The shrill voice of her younger sister cut through the music that was playing in her walkman. Debra sometimes wondered if she were adopted because she was so different than her siblings.

She rolled her eyes. What did Connie want now? She had already done her inside chores and she wasn’t going to trade with her little sister now. Well, if she took her time responding, maybe Connie would just give up.

“Debra! It’s Emily and Darin, and they brought some friends!” For a moment, Debra panicked. She didn’t know they were coming, yet again, she wished they would just give her a heads up once in a while. And which of the group of friends did they bring? From the letters, she had learned about Mike, their cousin, Karen, Emily’s best friend, and Grant and Jared, the other two that made up the group.

Groaning, Debra prayed she didn’t look too terrible in her grass stained shoes and jeans. Then she silently cursed her sister for shouting, rather than coming to look for her. She walked around to the front of the house and was suddenly engulfed by Darin’s hug.

Emily laughed at the greeting Darin gave her pen pal. It had only been one year, but the way Darin was reacting, it could have been ten. She wondered if maybe Darin and Debra would make a couple of it. Thinking about it this past year, Emily thought they would be wonderful together; now, how to accomplish this without being too obvious. Debra needed to get over her strange fear of males and Darin would go slow for her.

“Debra, you look great. How have you been?” Emily said, slugging her brother in the shoulder. She really did think that Debra looked good, just as she knew Debra wouldn’t see it.

Debra turned from Darin and gave Emily a hug. She knew she didn’t look great, but she was grateful for Emily saying so.

“I’ve been okay. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” Debra hadn’t yet registered the presence of the other two.

“I believe she wanted to surprise you.” The voice was deep and soothing and spoke volumes with just the tone. It was the kind of voice that melted ice hearts and made knees weak.

Debra looked into the dark eyes of the young man who said that. He had a brace on one knee and a soft smile on his lips. For a moment, they seemed to be sharing each other’s exact thoughts. Panicking at the intensity of his gaze and how it seemed to see into her very soul, Debra looked to Emily. Debra hoped that the familiarity of her friend would calm the nervousness she was feeling around him.

Then she saw the even taller blond and understood Connie’s reaction. Both were incredibly handsome, the blond looking like a model and the dark one looking like a jock. How could you go wrong with either one of them?

“So, Emily, who are your friends?” Debra asked, trying not to let her voice break. She thought she already knew, but she wanted to make sure she knew which was which in case her suddenly foggy brain had gotten them mixed up.

“Deb, this is Grant Thomas and Jared Morgan. We go to the same high school in California and are good friends.” Em pointed to each of them in turn so that Deb would know which was which.

With a smile, Deb turned to Grant and Jared again. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person. I’ve heard a lot about both of you from Emily’s letters. Look, I was just finishing up mowing the grass, give me a few minutes to change, call Jamie, and then we can go and do something, or just hang out here. Sound good?”

Darin gave Deb a quick peck on the cheek and whispered for her to hurry. Then hooked his arm through hers and walked with her to the back door. Connie almost ran into them as she pushed her way out with a tray of iced teas for them. Taking the opportunity of Connie’s entrance, Deb broke away from Darin and ran into the house and up to her room.

Picking up the phone, she dialed Jamie’s number, listened to it ring several times, and then heard her mother answer. Another minute passed as Jamie ran to the phone and asked in a breathless tone what was up.

“What are you doing, Jamie? Practicing for the role of Mata Hari?”

“Nope, I was just getting in from my jog. So, what’s up?”

“Em and Darin just arrived, another surprise. And they have a couple of friends with them. How soon can you get here?”

Debra peeled off her grass stained shoes and jeans while she listened to the yelling conversation between Jamie and her mom. Then she pulled out a pair of capris and some sandals to change into. Picking out a new blouse, Deb risked setting the phone down for split second while she pulled off her sweat stained shirt.

“Deb? Are you there?”

’Yeah, Jamie, I was just changing my shirt. What’s the verdict?”

“I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t do anything until I get there. Are the friends male or female?”

Debra laughed and didn’t answer the question as she hung up the phone. She wanted to see her friend squirm a little, just like she had when first confronted with Grant and Jared. Taking her clean clothes into the bathroom, Debra rinsed off in a cool shower, dried off, and climbed into her outfit.

Combing her wet hair, she returned to her room to find Emily standing by the window looking out over the yard and the four young men standing around and the one younger girl trying to make two of the three notice her. Emily turned when she heard the surprised noise Deb made and smiled at her.

“I hope you don’t mind, but your sister was getting on my nerves. Is she always so…”

“Yes, I’m afraid she is. I am surrounded by siblings who are numb from the neck up. At least Eric is enough of a jock to actually have something to say though.”

“How do you stand it?” Emily asked and sat down on Debra’s bed. “I like your room, it fits you.” Emily looked around the room and smiled. Her own room was white and pastels, Debra’s was darker and yet lighter at the same time.

The ceiling sloped on both sides creating eaves and short walls on two sides. Windows dominated one of the short walls and the wall opposite the door. The bed was big and heavy, carved of cherry wood with lighter wood inset as diamonds. A tall chest of drawers and a four drawer vanity matched the bed and stood on the tall wall next to the door. Under the windows on the short wall was a window seat covered in stuffed animals and a floor to ceiling bookshelf was to the left of the windows and filled with books. Between the windows on the tall wall, looking out over the yard and garden was a file cabinet on which sat a stereo.

“This bed is like an old fashioned one from a pioneer farmstead. It’s a lot cooler than my bed. Karen would kill or die for a room like this.” Emily said, bouncing a little on the soft mattress.

“What can I say? The bed is only a hundred years old, even if the mattresses are only about fifty. I guess lumpy is in?” Debra grinned at the surprise on Emily’s face. “My question is…what is with you and Jared? You were such a hot item last year.”

Emily sat back against the headboard and watched as Debra blew her hair dry and then tied it up into a ponytail. She sat up in the bed and looked out the window and saw the group still talking by the row of lilac trees against the back fence.

“We are still the best of friends. It’s just that as romantic partners, things didn’t work out the way we wanted them too. We both think it’s better to just be good friends. Think that is too corny?” Emily asked as she sat back against the headboard again.

“I don’t think so. It’s one of those sentiments I think more people our age should embrace and don’t. So how did you bribe Grant and Jared to get them here?” Debra responded, sitting on the end of the bed and picking up a tattered teddy bear to hold on her lap.

Emily chuckled. “Actually, I didn’t bribe them at all, they bribed me. They are dying to know who it was that made Darin give up on chasing cheerleaders. So we agreed to bring them along on one condition.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this one.” Debra said.

“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, Darin is tripping over himself to get your attention. The condition is that neither Grant nor Jared can ask you out on a date until after Darin has taken you out.” Emily watched Debra’s face carefully to see how the news would be taken. She was still a little worried about how Debra would react.

Debra giggled. “Of all the stupid….” Debra then looked at Emily and grinned. “I have nothing against going out with any of them, but it would never be more than as friends. I’m not in their league and honestly, I wouldn’t want to be. I have never been nor ever want to be in the group that includes cheerleaders, jocks, and studs. But don’t tell them that.”

The girls laughed as they left Deb’s room and headed down the stairs. Just as they stepped out onto the porch, Jamie climbed out of a car and slammed the door shut. With a smile and wave, Em and Deb joined Jamie as the car drove off.

“So, who are these friends?” Jamie looked good in cut offs and white peasant blouse. Her short hair was almost golden in the sun and her stunningly green eyes shone with excitement.

“Is that Jamie I hear?”

Darin came around the corner of the house with the rest in tow and gave Jamie a big grin and then a hug. Jamie’s jaw almost dropped when she got her first look at Grant and Jared. Deb hid a grin as Jamie’s eyes almost bugged out. Ah, it was going to be a good day after all, Debra thought, as they all fell into talking like they were old and dear friends.

Shægnek hummed softly to herself as she put the next line into the sketch. Charcoal was so much fun; you could blur lines and add shadings that added depth and character to a picture. It also hid surprises and underlying currents. Of course, Mhahluh, God of Art, would have quite a bit to say about her technique or lack thereof, but this wasn’t so much a masterpiece as a piece of the prophecy.

The First and the heart of the group had made a connection, but they hadn’t understood it and it even frightened the First to a small degree. Jealousy roused its head in the breast of the Wer and that would be something that could be played on later. From her library she heard the cursing of Chaos as he tried to shatter the vase. She had thought it a fitting image to engrave in the piece of art. Such a combination didn’t happen very often and it just looked and felt right. In her moment of distraction, some charcoal dust fell and was blurred with her knuckle, making a slight change she was unaware of, but someone else noticed. With a deft press of her thumb, the goddess blurred the lines on the image on her parchment. Yes, that was perfect.