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“What are you doing here so early?”
I almost grinned as Raiya opened the door. She was bleary-eyed with broken sleep, but I knew she was up before I arrived. There was a light on, shining out into the darkness from the second-story window of the small coffeehouse, and I knew from my other visits it was her room.
“I’m hungry,” I told her, half-honest about it. My mother had gotten a new chef recently, in order to fulfill her latest fad-diet requirements (something called the “Builder Regime,” or something like that).
She rolled her eyes, yawning as she turned away. “You want the usual?” she asked.
“If you teach me how to use the espresso machine, I can get it myself.”
“You’ll need to ask Rachel.” Raiya shook her head, allowing several of her long, brownish locks to fall free of the loose bun at the back of her head. “She’s the one in charge of that, and she has rules.”
“Okay,” I said with a laugh.
She glared at me. “How come you’re so cheerful this morning? Don’t you realize it’s only six o’clock? Rachel’s not even going to be here for another hour.”
“Where is she?”
“Since she’s married now, she moved in with Lee and his brother. They live closer to the marina where Lee works.”
Rachel had gotten married over the summer to her one true love, Lee.
“How is Logan?” I asked. I was shocked to find out at the wedding that Logan was a brother to Lee; I’d met Logan before, as he was one of the workers at Lakeview Observatory, and one of the many people I’d more recently rescued from a demon monster attack. Seeing him show up as the brother of the groom was one of the things that made Rachel’s wedding memorable, to say the least. “I mean, living with newlyweds must be sickening.”
“I doubt he notices. He’s going to college, so even if he does notice, it’s cheap rent for him.”
I wondered if Logan was feeling better since Rachel and Lee had moved in with him; I had a strong suspicion it was mostly a charitable move on Rachel’s part.
“So Aunt Letty and Grandpa and I all take turns opening for Rachel,” Raiya finished, calling my attention back to her.
I grinned. “Neither of them seems to be here when I come.”
“You’ve been coming early in the mornings for only a few months, and only a few days each week.” Raiya pulled out the milk from the small fridge behind the counter as she began to set up the coffee bar for the day. “And I happen to like taking the early shift, so I can get it over with for the day.”
“You’re not going to open your own coffee shop one day with that attitude.”
“This place is Rachel’s. Why would I want to copy her dream?” Raiya shook her head. “I have different ideas in mind for myself.”
“You don’t want to work here?”
She arched her brow at me. “Serving you at six in the morning isn’t as grand as it seems.”
“There are some girls who would sell their souls to serve me coffee, I’ll have you know,” I bit back.
“I’ll refrain from making my thoughts on that particular topic known.” She pushed the coffee cup toward me and poured one for herself.
“No, enlighten me,” I wheedled.
Raiya narrowed her gaze at me from over the rim of her cup. She licked a small sliver of foam from the top of her lips, as I watched, strangely transfixed.
“Waste of a soul,” she finally replied, jerking my attention back to her slanted eyes.
“Probably,” I agreed. “Some of those girls had probably already lost theirs for some other silly reason. Like concert tickets or makeovers.” I glanced at her. “Come to think of it, that’s probably more your style there.”
“What do you mean?” It was Raiya’s turn to huff indignantly.
“I mean what you did at Rachel’s wedding,” I said. “I barely recognized you, with all your makeup and hair done and your dress.”
She flushed. For a moment, I wondered if it was because she was embarrassed or insulted, but I took a quick assessment of her face, and I knew she was more embarrassed because I was giving her a compliment.
And it was well worth it, I thought, recalling how pretty she was at Rachel’s wedding. As the maid of honor, she had been forced to wear something lovely and formal; with the sunlight streaming through her hair while the silk folds of her dress billowed around her, Raiya was absolutely gorgeous. “It was probably a good thing Gwen wasn’t there or she would’ve hit me for looking at you so much.”
“Gee, thanks,” Raiya muttered, surprising me. I hadn’t realized I’d said that aloud. “Good to know I could fool you if I was in a police line.”
I frowned. “It’s just such a departure from your usual, with that ugly Rosemont Academy uniform and all,” I said sarcastically, angry she was quick to assume I’d been teasing her.
“Is that why you’ve been coming in here so often?” Raiya asked, as she began to pull out the morning reserves of doughnuts, croissants, muffins, and other breakfast items Rachel’s Café served. “Checking to make sure I’m not wearing my old school uniform anymore?”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t find out ... ” I sighed dramatically, before giving her a wink.
She smiled and went back to her tasks.
“Why did you wear it so much last year?” I asked.
“Believe it or not, Rachel doesn’t make tons of money in business,” Raiya said. “I’ve been living with her long enough to know that. I didn’t want to buy new clothes just because my school had been demolished.”
“I like your new clothes,” I said. Immediately, I felt awkward.
“Thanks, I guess.” She didn’t seem to notice my embarrassment and took it in stride. “I’ll make sure I wear my uniform on game days for the Falcons and the Tigers this year, just for you.”
I laughed a bit at that. “I’m not on the team this year, so it would be a needless gesture.”
“You’re not playing football this year?”
“No,” I admitted. “Cheryl’s case with those superheroes and working down at the Mayor’s office has eaten up a lot of my time. And this year, we have to worry about SATs and other testing. I thought it would be a good move. You know, time-wise.”
“Priorities are good,” Raiya agreed noncommittally.
“Yeah,” I agreed. I smirked over my empty cup. “I guess you’ll have to find other ways to annoy me.”
“AP Gov will give me some opportunities, I’m sure,” she replied. “Especially since we have the same seating arrangement as last year’s APUSH class.”
“Mrs. Smithe gave us a warning about that,” I reminded her. “So even though you’re still sitting behind me, don’t get any ideas about being annoying.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Raiya laughed. “Did you notice that after she made us sign that peace treaty pledge, Mrs. Smithe pinned it on the classroom wall?”
As I watched Raiya move around as I sat at the bar, I marveled at the sense of peace I felt.
Starry Knight might have managed to divide my heart and mind into madness, but sitting in the coffee shop, talking with Raiya, there was a settled feeling inside of me that I couldn’t fully explain. I barely noticed that time had passed.
The arrival of a text message to my phone set fire to that illusion.
I glared at the screen as I read through Mikey’s text message. Best friend or not, I thought, he could be irritating. And it was even more irritating than usual, considering he was asking if I was getting coffee. And if I was, he wanted some.
Needless to say, I didn’t reply.
“Is that Gwen, or is she still mad you forgot to invite her to Rachel’s wedding?”
Raiya’s tone was light and teasing, but I decided I suddenly hated it. Probably because I sort-of hated myself for the summer incident.
I’d been so upset about Starry Knight and all of our problems, and all the pain she caused me, that I had completely shut down. I didn’t even want to work on any of my superhero skills or do any real work. I barely managed to get through work at the Mayor’s office. Good thing it was government work, or I might have been written up for my lack of diligence.
It was by sheer luck that Elysian forced me out of bed on the day of Rachel’s wedding. And in all the turmoil that was my life, I forgot to pick up Gwen. Although I wasn’t even sure if I had invited her.
Needless to say, Gwen was pretty upset. Especially when I didn’t even let her know what had happened. (I’d been hoping she would not find out, but thanks to Jason’s social media posting, that was not the case.)
“No, she’s not mad.” I sniffed in reply. “Not that it’s any of your business, anyway.”
Raiya shrugged. “Mikey said she had forgiven you, but she’s still upset about it.”
I could understand that, I supposed, thinking of Starry Knight once more. I still loved her, but I was extremely angry with her. I suddenly wondered if Gwen felt similar to the way I did?
I sighed. If Gwen was as upset as I was, I supposed I could expect a long thawing period; not much had changed for me since eleventh grade began, and I didn’t expect it to anytime soon.
“Since when do you talk to Mikey?” I retorted. It was really the only thing I could use to hide my own confusion and dismay on the matter.
“Oh, he doesn’t talk to me so much as Grandpa Odd,” she assured me.
“Why?” I scoffed. I rolled my eyes at the mention of Raiya and Rachel’s grandfather, who had to be over a hundred years old.
“I don’t know,” Raiya said with a shrug. “But when you’re not here, and Gwen’s not here, he likes to talk to him. Maybe Mikey’s thinking of playing matchmaker. His grandmother is single.”
“That’s weird,” I muttered into my coffee.
“I don’t suppose you would understand,” Raiya finally replied. “Grandpa Odd has a way with helping people who need it. He was the one who brought me here to live with Rachel after my parents died.”
I nearly choked on my coffee. Before I could reply, Raiya opened the door to the café, and business began to flow in. I just stared at her for a long moment as she ignored me, tending to her customers.
While I was fully expecting a rebuke from her, I was still surprised at her response.
I tried catching her eye, hoping to maybe ... I don’t know. Make amends? Offer sympathy?
The bell chimed as the door opened, and Rachel’s voice called out in greeting. “Hamilton! Back again?”
“Hello, Mrs. Reynolds,” I greeted, making a smile blossom on her face. “How’s married life treating you?”
“Great!” she replied with a glowing look. “I might miss the easy early-morning commute to the café, but it’s been nice living with Lee and his brother.”
“Logan, right?” I asked, trying to be inconspicuous. “I remember him from the wedding.”
“Yeah. He’s a sweet kid.” Rachel chuckled. “I know he’s close to my age, but he’s so caught up in his work at the observatory, it’s precious.”
I just nodded, pretending not to care. But I knew all too well of Logan’s role at Lakeview Observatory. That was where the meteorite was kept. The one that slammed into Apollo City, and several people that I knew of, including Starry Knight, had all seemed to decide to keep tabs on it. Aleia warned us the demons might use it to attack again, although I doubted it. Evil forces or not, they didn’t seem to be terribly creative.
Of course, that might be the reason they would use it, I thought.
“Rachel, if you’re ready, I’ll head out now.” Raiya appeared behind the counter once more and handed me another cup of coffee.
“What’s the rush?” I asked. “We have time. School doesn’t start for another thirty minutes. And I’m not ready for another cup yet, but thanks, I guess.”
“I’m not going to school today,” Raiya informed me. “The extra cup is for Mikey.” At my confused expression, she added, “I know he likes it when you bring him some.”
“Oh,” I murmured, finally replying. “Why aren’t you going to school today? Martha’s AP Gov assignment finally got you scared?”
She smirked. “No. I have a doctor’s appointment today, if that’ll convince you I’m being sincere. Will you take notes for me?”
Before I could insist I would never willingly make her life easier, I felt it.
The mark on my wrist—the one that held the power to transform me from Hamilton Dinger into Wingdinger—blazed with pain. Supernatural power was wreaking havoc on the city somewhere.
“I have to go,” I remarked, not entirely sure Raiya would let me leave without a real reply. Oh well. I had more important things to worry about at the moment; especially since I was probably going to need someone to take notes for me in AP Gov as well.
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