The rest of graduation day passes in a blur. I’m floored when I open my card from Juan back at the house in an awkward gathering with my mom, Austin, my dad and his newly pregnant wife who looks young enough to be my sister, and Hank. I go to open it. Austin grabs my hand. This earns him a glare from Hank, who he pointedly ignores.
“Stop! Dad wants to watch you open it by ZOOM.” He grabs his phone, taps on the ap, and enters the number. A few minutes later, Juan pops up onscreen.
I wave to him. “Hi, Juan.” He gives me a nod. I try to hold the card up as I open it. There’s a snack-sized Ziplock bag stapled to the inside, and a folded piece of paper inside of that. I pull out the paper, open it up, and read aloud. “Your tuition is in the bag. I’ve got you.” I can hardly believe it as I hand it over to Austin. My eyes fill with tears as I look back at Juan. I spread my arms open wide. “Air hug!” I kiss my fingertips and reach out to touch the phone. “Thank you, Juan.”
He smiles back at me. “Your mom videoed your speech. I can’t wait to see it.” He glances down off screen. “I’ve got to get back to the conference, Amy. I’m so proud of you.” The ZOOM call ends.
Austin grins and shakes his head. “My dad’s a man of few words, but the words he says are heav-y.”
I punch him in the shoulder. “Ha ha. You’re so funny.”
My father gets up off the couch and gives me a quick side-hug. “Well, Amy. Brittney and I need to get going. She’s got an appointment.”
I shrug out of his awkward embrace. “Thanks for stopping by.”
Hank jumps up. He towers over my father as he sticks out his hand. “You are Amy’s father?”
My father looks up at him with a confused look on his face. “Yes.”
“I am Hank.”
Austin snickers at his words, and I knee his knee with mine to try and shut him up. This only makes it worse, and he dashes from the room to hide his laughter. Hank is oblivious as he continues to stare down at my father. What is going on?
Hank opens his mouth again. “Do not worry, I will take good care of Amy.”
My father’s frown grows. I’m so glad my mom is not in the room. I jump up and run over to Hank. I slip my hand between his arm and the rest of him. I grab his wrist and tug his hand from their handshake.
“Dad, you’d better get going. You don’t want to be late.”
Dad and Brittney leave. I look up at Hank. “Can I talk to you a second in private?” I take his hand and lead him out of the room into the pantry. I reach around him to shut the door before I whisper-shout. “What are you doing?”
The pantry is small, and it gets a whole lot smaller as he steps closer. His hands go to my waist. “You look very beautiful in your flowery dress, Amy.”
My heart flutters, and I’m extremely annoyed at how easily he distracts me. “Hank. You cannot be talking to people about our trip. It’s a secret. If my parents knew, they wouldn’t let me go.”
His hands burn through my dress like hot irons that are impossible to ignore as his grip strengthens slightly. “I’m sorry, Amy. I just wanted your father to have faith in me. It’s important that he trusts me.”
I put my hand on his chest in an effort to keep some distance. “I know, Hank, but he doesn’t know who you are, or why you’re here, and he can’t know, okay?”
“Amy. Are you ashamed of me?” The hurt in his voice is difficult to ignore, but I’m still irritated with Hank for not being more careful.
I’ve got to make him understand the gravity of the situation. “It’s not that at all, Hank. My mom forbids me to see Lady Margaret, okay? And if she thought for a second I was going anywhere near her or the place your father lives, I’d be locked in my room until next school year.”
Hank chuckles and his chest rumbles beneath my hand. “Amy. I think I understand. Are you going to keep talking to my chest, or will you look me in the eye?”
I look up even though I know it’s a mistake. His lips crash down on mine. He sends me into the land of Hank, that can only be defined by his beautiful lips and magical touch. Is it possible to feel like a burning feather, hotter than hot and weightless at the same time? By the time I pull back, my arms wrap around him like a vice grip. I barely reorient when the closet door is yanked open by a smiling Austin.
“Winner, winner, chicken dinner. I found the graduation girl. In a closet. With the Burning Sun.” His sing-song voice gloats. I can’t stand it.
Hank scowls down at him. “I am the Son of Fire.”
Austin shrugs his shoulders. “Tomatoes, tuh-mah-tow’s. What’s the difference?” He winks at me and continues in his sing-song voice. “I know a secret about you.” He points a waggling finger at me as he calls out. “Yo, yo, Ma! I think I found Amy!”
I jump out of the closet and clamp my hand over Austin’s mouth. I stand on tiptoe to whisper furiously in his ear. “Don’t you dare! No road trip for either of us.” I remove my hand.
Austin hollers again. “Never mind. It was just Hank. He was searching for a lightbulb.”
I run out the back door and race through the yard to get to the front door. I creep back in. I scan the room for my mother, but she’s nowhere to be found. I sneak over to the cake table to snag a piece of cake and some snack nuts. I sit down in my favorite fuzzy chair, and I’m soon flanked by Austin and Hank, who sit on both sides of me on the floor. Hank’s hand moves toward my foot. Austin gives him a glare. I cross my ankles to avoid touching Hank. His response is to shift over and lean up against my chair. His shoulder rests against my knee and his pinkie flirts with my ankle. I give his hand a toe kick, which he dodges with a smirk, before he returns to tracing my ankle bone with maddening precision. I know I should feel repulsed, but I’m not used to such obvious attentions. Part of me is flattered.
Finally, everyone is gone, and I rush to my room to double check my bags. No sooner do I shut the door, then Jenni FaceTime’s me.
“Hey! Are you ready for our trip?”
I put a finger to my lips. “Keep it down, Jenni. Please.”
She frowns at me. “You still haven’t told your mom?”
I shake my head. “I’m letting Austin handle her. He is her favorite, after all.” I hear a door open, and I sense who entered the room without even turning to look. Jenni’s eyes go wide. “Who is that?”
I clear my throat and speak softly. “He’s coming too.”
Hank steps up behind me and peers into the phone. “I am Hank.”
Jenni blinks once and answers in kind without hesitation. “I am Jenni.”
I bite my lip and turn my head sideways in an effort to control my laughter. Hank scowls into the phone. “Are you mocking me?”
Jenni’s face remains unreadable. “I don’t know yet. Who are you, and why are you in Amy’s room?”
Hank smiles and places his hand at my waist, out of Jenni’s sight. “I am Amy’s boyfriend.”
Jenni’s eyes get big. “Is that so?”
I turn back to the phone to face Jenni. I don’t answer while I silently plead with my eyes for her to stop asking questions. I try to keep it short and to the point. “Hank’s father is the leader. Hank knows Lady Margaret. He’s going to help us get in.”
Jenni’s eyes narrow. “You’re trusting the son of the leader?”
I sigh with relief that she refrained from using the word cult. “Yes, Jenni. I trust him. He’s been nothing but truthful since we met.”
Jenni’s face doesn’t change. “And when did you meet?”
Hank answers. “Precisely 24 hours 8 minutes and 48 seconds ago, but who’s counting?”
My mouth drops open and so does Jenni’s. She recovers first. “Hank. You are very precise.” Jenni’s droll tone almost sends me into a fit of giggles, and I bite my lip again to hide my laughter.
Hank shrugs his shoulders. “I like numbers because they are exact. There is nothing deceitful about them.”
I take a deep breath, regain my composure, and nod my head. I smile because he gets it. “This is very true.”
Jenni throws up her hands. “You’re as weird as she is, Hank.”
I lift my chin slightly. “I prefer to think I’m numerically enlightened.”
Jenni makes a face at me. “Tell me, oh enlightened one. What time are we leaving on this epic trip?”
Austin pops up from somewhere behind me. “Midnight, Cinderella. We’re blowing this popsicle joint at midnight.” My heart melts a little at Austin’s reference to one of Lady Margaret’s favorite idioms.
Jenni grins as Austin leans in front of me. He fills up the screen with his nose and mouth. “Hey there, Jenni. You’re lookin’ F-I-N-E.”
I give him a shove. I’m completely annoyed with his flirting and my best friend’s blushing. “Austin, I didn’t know you could spell four letter words now. Good for you.”
He makes a face at me. “That’s not the only four-letter word I can spell, Sees-tor. I know one that starts with “I don’t give a” and rhymes with duck.”
I make a face back. “Oh, aren’t you so clever.?”
He reaches under the bed and pulls out the bag of cash. He grabs a brick. My anxiety rises. “Hey! What are you doing with that?”
He looks up at me. “I figure we should all have some in case we get robbed or something. You don’t want it all in the same place.”
I nod my head. “Good idea.”
He stands up. “I know. See you in a few hours.”
Jenni calls out through the phone. “Bye, Austin.” I give her a look. Her eyes move sideways before she looks back with an ornery grin, as she turns around. Jim stands behind her in a towel. My face goes beet red. Jenni sticks out her tongue at me. “Jim! Say hi to Amy.”
I cough as Jim’s face looks embarrassed. He clings to his towel with one hand while the other raises a hand in greeting. “Hey, Amy.”
I manage a few words. “Hi, Jim.” Jenni turns another direction, and Jim disappears. I stick my tongue out at her. “You are such a brat. I guess I’d better finish packing. I’ll see you soon.”
I end the FaceTime call. Hank’s still behind me. “You like him.”
“He’s my friend’s brother. I’ve known him a long time. We’re just friends.” Why am I defending myself?
“You want to be more than friends.” I don’t like his accusing tone.
I shrug, telling myself there’s no reason to feel guilty. “It doesn’t matter what I want, Hank. He doesn’t think of me that way. You can’t get mad about this. We’ve only just met.” Hank still stands behind me. I turn to face him. “He’s in college, Hank. He goes to M.I.T. He’s brilliant. He’d never go for someone like me.”
Hank looks back at me with such openness, it’s hard to stay angry at him. “Amy. You could get any guy you want. Trust me on that.”
I look down at the ground, unsure of how I feel. “Thanks, Hank.”