“So, what, we’re on the chopping block now?” Kyle’s tone was snarky, "You said this guy is dangerous.
“That is precisely why I'm asking you to merely observe. You can report to me anything out of the ordinary that you might witness this boy do. However, you must keep this little assignment quiet. Understood?”
Kyle reluctantly nodded.
Ophelia looked over at Amry who was frowning.
“Mr. Abernathy?” Ophelia timidly raised her hand.
“Ophelia my dear, this isn’t a classroom. Put your hand down and speak.”
“What has this boy done?”
“Done?” Mr. Abernathy raised a brow.
“You said he was bad in life, and you trying to save him,” Ophelia squeaked.
“I believe his life on earth wasn't a good one. He was thrown into the world with no one. His mother died when he was barely six years old; being forced to fend for himself from such an early age hardened him. I want to try and give him the chance in death he didn't have in life. I am trying to redeem his soul." Abernathy crossed his hands on the desk.
Ophelia looked away. The thought of a soul being sent to The Nowhere, churned the faux acids in her stomach. “Headmaster, isn't our safety important? I don't understand?"
“I don’t think any of us do, Lia.” Amry stood up. “What's really going on?”
“Tone, Miss Goodman.” Mr. Abernathy huffed, “This is a delicate matter that will need your...”
“Stop. Just tell us.” Amry folded her arms.
“This is bogus, quit taking the long way around,” Kyle said firmly.
“Zachary Kowal is my sister's son. I promised her right before she crossed over that I would do everything to save him."
The four gasped. Ophelia locked eyes with Amry as she slid back into her space on the couch, and the room fell silent.
Headmaster Abernathy nodded at Dictator Dick. He turned to an over-sized étagère on the wall behind his chair and opened the perfectly crafted doors to reveal six drawers. Sliding open the first storage box, he pulled out a manila folder and placed it on the desk in front of the teens.
“Open it.” Mr. Abernathy nodded his head.
Amry reached out, and flipped the folder revealing multiple sheets of paper.
“All your questions can be answered in this file. We will give you a few minutes to review it, and then the rest is up to you."
After the four men left the room, the group huddled together reading the contents of the damned boy’s life.
"This guy’s past reads like a gangster rap sheet. Robbery, assault—kidnapping! We're all gonna wind up in The Nowhere because he's gonna put us there," Kyle exclaimed.
“Kyle’s right. We’re screwed.” Bethany slouched down in the seat.
"Zachary Kowal is the son of Marianne Abernathy. Huh…" Ophelia bit her lip.
"What's huh?" Kyle leaned in.
"He died a long time ago; I wonder why Headmaster didn't bring him here sooner?"
"Who cares?" Kyle furrowed his brow.
"It's just weird, that's all." Ophelia kept reading. "Says Zachary was banished to the in-between for over five hundred years. I wonder what that is?" Ophelia's eyes widened.
"Sort of like a doorway. On one side your room, on the other, the dorm hallway. He was standing directly in the doorway." Amry grinned. "There are many in-betweens. It just depends on which one he was sent to. I mean what he saw on either side. Either way it's a cruddy existence. You're basically trapped in a world of nothing."
"How did you know that?" Ophelia asked.
"Right after I got here, I met a student who was rescued from one of the in-between worlds. He accidentally slipped into a portal that had been opened by Headmaster. Don't ask me why he opened it, I don't know,” she paused and after a moment she continued “But he did, and the trail of space looped around this boy’s essence and puff, he was there. It was only a minute or two before Abernathy reeled him back, but it was long enough for him to give a pretty good description. Of which I was forbidden to say anything about by Dictator Dick. So, keep it quiet." Amry placed her pointer finger over her mouth.
"That’s phooey. This Zachary is probably a basket case right now. Top that off with his love for crime and we're better than screwed, we're all next on a long list of victims the Academy will present him," Kyle snapped.
“We don’t have a choice.” Amry read the pages again. "He was abandoned and treated like dirt."
“The Headmaster picked us for a reason. I’m not happy about this either. But if it could save his soul?” Ophelia's voice trailed off.
“He's not a stray puppy dog, Ophelia. He's gonna cause real trouble for all of us." Kyle shoved his chair back. “This is a drag, man.”
Ophelia turned away.
“Stop. All of you. Kyle, shut up. Lia, turn back around and Bethany, well, you're fine. We don’t have a choice. We may not like it, but this is how it is. This guy is going to be here. We do our best to help the Headmaster, end of story. Agreed?” Amry tapped her fingers on the desk. “I said, agreed?”
Kyle and Bethany mumbled a reluctant yes, and Ophelia half smiled.
“Okay then, I’ll go tell them we’re ready for tomorrow.”
Ophelia barely slept. The trepidation of their new job left her with too many questions to count. She held her head, envisioning the havoc Zachary wreaked when he was alive. A shiver ran down her spine. Well, it felt like where her spine would be if she still had one.
A harsh thump on her dorm room window startled Ophelia into the now. Turning toward the window she saw a barrage of small stones hit the glass. Frowning, she quickly walked over to see who the pitcher was—Kyle.
Releasing the latch, she pulled up the window just in time to be a recipient of a second handful of the hard minerals. A larger rock hit her square between the eyes. Wincing, Ophelia cupped the bridge of her nose.
“Ouch! What are you doing, Kyle?” Ophelia tried to rub away the pain.
“Sorry. I guess I should have just come up.”
“Uh, yeah. That would have been less dangerous for me.” Ophelia continued rubbing.
“You okay?” Kyle’s voice tenuous.
“I’m fine. What do you want?”
“We’re all meeting in the library in about thirty minutes. The girls are already there. Amry said she forgot to set the alarm to get you up. She had that early science class.”
“So, are you the errand boy?” Ophelia asked, sarcastically.
“No. Well, kind of. I had to go back to my room for something, and you were on the way. I volunteered.”
“Okay, you’ve done your job. I’ll be there in a few minutes. First, I need to shower and get dressed.” She stuck her tongue out.
“I deserved that. I’ll see you there.” Kyle briskly crossed the lawn.
Ophelia went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. She was the only one of her friends who still maintained the morning ritual. She gazed in the mirror while waiting for the water to steam. Squinting her eyes, she leaned in for a better view. Yup, a knot the size of a nickel angrily sat between her eyes.