Chapter Two

Gabriel woke to Zigzag’s sloppy licking, and glanced at the clock on his nightstand. “Not again.” He pushed his pet boxer away, sat up in bed, and gave his clock a tap. “Stupid piece of junk.”

Today, of all days, his alarm clock had chosen to fail him. Again. It was the day Brent, Piper, and he would find out if the waterfall crystal was more than just a crystal, or if it was something really magical. Maybe it had been dropped from an alien ship, or something really cool.

The only person Gabriel knew who could figure out if the crystal belonged to aliens was his sixth grade science teacher, Mr. Roswell. But if he didn’t hustle, he wouldn’t get a chance to share his discovery. Gabriel felt his neck to make sure the necklace he’d made for the crystal last night hadn’t fallen off during his restless sleep. “Still there,” he mumbled as he patted the oddly warm crystal. He lowered his feet onto a heap of blankets and clothes; another night of nightmares meant yesterday’s clothes were joined by his blanket on the floor beside his bed.

With no time to worry about style or cleanliness, he pulled on yesterday’s jeans and t-shirt. A swift run of fingers through his hair and Gabriel felt as ready as ever for school. He made a quick stop to grab some books, pausing for a moment to stare at the framed picture on top of his dresser.

“Hi, Mom.”

It had been a year since she’d gone for a walk, and never come back. Endless search parties and an official investigation all ended with the same conclusion: she’d vanished into thin air.

Gabriel’s stomach churned. He picked up the picture and searched his mother’s face, looking for an explanation as to why she’d left. Her smiling face looked back. No answers there.

In his mind’s eye, it was about a year ago. His mom had kissed his forehead as she tucked him into bed. As she’d left, she turned off the light. He’d bolted straight up.

“But, Mom. T-the light.”

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Remember, I’ll leave your door open, and you’ve got that night-light.” She’d pointed to the small, Spiderman night-light plugged into the wall across from his bed. The one he’d gotten when he was like, three. The one he hid when his friends came over.

“But can’t you just lie down with me till I doze off?” His voice had come out more pleading than he’d liked, but he hated the idea of falling asleep in the dark even more.

“Not tonight, honey. I need to get some air. I’m gonna go for a walk in the mountains at Beachy Cove Falls. You’ll be okay, and I promise I won’t be long.” She had sighed and shook her head. “You should never have watched Brent’s dad’s old horror movies.”

Gabriel had plopped back on his pillow with a sigh. He hated being such a wimp at night. Eleven years old was too old to be afraid of the dark. He blamed it on watching too many horror movies with friends. Somehow, during the day, between pillow fights and chowing down on popcorn, they didn’t seem so scary. He knew they were fake. But that didn’t console him when the sun went down.

After watching The Exorcist in Brent’s basement, Gabriel’s mom had to lie with him until he fell asleep every night for a week. On top of that, he’d slept with the light on for months now. And not just a night-light, but the overhead light, too.

His mom had turned back to face him from the doorway and the hall light had caught the sparkle in her moss-green eyes that everybody said matched his. She’d given him a thumbs up, whispering to him as she left. “Be brave, Gabe. I love you.”

“Gabe!” His father’s voice boomed from the first floor, shaking Gabriel back to reality. He swallowed hard and set down the frame, his eyes burning. I was too much trouble. That’s why she left. He ran from the room, hoping to outrun the guilty thoughts.

“Coming!”

Zigzag barely kept up as he bounded down the stairs. They nearly knocked down Gabriel’s dad as they hurried past the kitchen counter.

His dad looked over the newspaper as he leaned against the counter, his eyebrows furrowing as he inspected Gabriel’s attire from head to toe. He stopped, zeroing in on his feet. “Uh, aren’t you forgetting something?”

Gabriel followed his father’s gaze. His shoeless feet were shrouded in two different colored socks.

“Shoes. Right. Thanks, Dad.” He picked up the sneakers he’d kicked off yesterday. There wasn’t time to change the socks.

His dad grabbed a piece of toast and held it out. “Is everything okay, bud? You’re acting kind of strange.” He inspected Gabriel’s face as if he were a doctor checking for mumps, measles, or one of those diseases kids get vaccinated for, but no one ever gets any more.

“I’m fine, Dad. I just don’t wanna be late for school, that’s all.” He ran his hand over the crystal tucked beneath his shirt.

“Well, eat this at least so I know you won’t starve to death. Even if you are stinky and wearing yesterday’s clothes.”

Gabriel froze as his father shoved toast into his mouth. There was nothing left to do but chew.

***

Gabriel made it to school with ten minutes to spare before the homeroom bell. He ran the whole way, and all he could think about was how his mother would have never let him get away with going to school like that.

“Hey.” Piper’s voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see her and Brent rounding the corner.

“Dude, rough night?” Brent chimed in with a laugh. He reached out and fist bumped with Gabriel.

Piper scrunched her nose. “What’s that smell? Did Zigzag throw up on you again?” Gabriel considered going with that story. It was better than the truth—that his nightmares left him drenched in sweat and extra smelly. With the excitement of the crystal, he hadn’t taken his usual morning shower.

“Uh, yeah. Maybe we should go see Mr. Roswell,” he said, trying to refocus the conversation. “We don’t have much time.”

“Okay, man, but seriously? You’re gonna have to, like, do something with that smell,” Brent admonished.

Piper looked at Gabriel with pity in her eyes. Gabriel scowled. He hated that look. It was the same one she’d given him after his mother disappeared. “Let’s just go.”

They bounded down the hall and into Mr. Roswell’s classroom. Mr. Roswell had the perfect name for a science teacher, which sometimes made Gabriel wonder if it was even his real name. It was just like the show Gabriel had seen on TV like, eons ago, about aliens found in Roswell, New Mexico.

Piper cleared her throat. “Good morning, Mr. Roswell.”

“Well hello, kids.” Mr. Roswell glanced over his shoulder and pushed his curly, dark-blond hair out of his eyes, leaving a trail of chalk dust above his caterpillar eyebrow. “I’ll be with you in just a minute.” He continued to write his outline on the board, as if its importance far outweighed anything they could possibly have to say. Gabriel barely resisted the urge to unleash the awesome power of his crystal right then and there.

“Um, we’re gonna be late for class, Mr. Roswell,” Brent mumbled.

“Well, you better get to it, then.” Mr. Roswell spun around, waving his chalk at them as he glanced at his watch. Piper looked at Brent, and Brent looked at Gabriel.

“Um. Well,” said Gabriel. “We found something, and we wanted to show it to you in case you could maybe tell us what it is.” Gabriel’s voice didn’t come out as assured as he would have liked. Maybe coming to Mr. Roswell had been a bad idea. The hallway was filled with kids rushing to beat the bell. The pressure was on.

Mr. Roswell put down the chalk and rubbed his hands together. “Out with it, then.” He moved around his desk, holding out his hand, palm up, to Gabriel. Gabriel gnawed his lip, hesitating. Maybe it had been a mistake to bring the crystal to Mr. Roswell. What if he took it, to study it or something? Who knew what teachers would do? But Gabriel needed answers, and he wouldn’t get them by keeping the crystal hidden beneath his shirt.

Gabriel slowly removed his necklace. He handed it over to Mr. Roswell, already missing the crystal’s glowy warmth.

“Hmmmmm.” Mr. Roswell brushed the rock against his green trousers, and then held it up to the fluorescent lights. “Uh-huh, yes. It’s some sort of crystal.” He turned it to the right, then left, then back to the right again. “Nice. Very nice.”

“That’s it? Just a crystal?” Gabriel looked at it closer, hoping it would refract light and hum, like it had yesterday.

Mr. Roswell stroked his goatee. Then he removed a magnifying glass from his jacket pocket, and held it up to the crystal. “Were you expecting something else? It seems it’s just a crystal. Where did you say you found it?”

Gabriel inwardly groaned, regretting showing him the crystal. He knew it was more than just an average crystal. Hearing Mr. Roswell say those words made his stomach tumble in disappointment. “Uh—I didn’t.” Gabriel could barely speak as the teacher inspected the crystal that didn’t exhibit any of the wonder from yesterday. No lights, no humming. Gabriel reached out and touched it. Nope—no heat either. Weird.

“Wait here, children.” Mr. Roswell handed the crystal and the magnifying glass to Gabriel, and disappeared into a closet in the back of the classroom. Banging, thumping, and crashing echoed from within.

“I don’t understand!” Piper exclaimed. “What’s wrong with it?”

“I don’t know,” Brent replied. “Gabriel must’ve broken it. Or maybe when Zigzag puked on him it short-circuited or something.”

Gabriel ignored them. He placed the magnifying glass up to the crystal. Then he smiled like a Cheshire cat.

“Guys! There’s nothing wrong with it,” he whispered. He waved them both over and they took a look through the magnifying glass.

Piper’s olive complexion turned white and Brent’s eyes widened.

“W-what … ” Piper stuttered, sounding breathless. “What is that?”

Gabriel just grinned. There was no mistaking the image of a white tiger inside the crystal. No ordinary crystals have magic like that.

Mr. Roswell walked out of the closet. “What are you whispering about back there?”

“Nothing, sir. We’re just taking a closer look at the crystal—” Gabriel broke off. He didn’t dare add what they’d seen inside. “Uh, never mind. C’mon, guys.” He nudged Brent and Piper. “We’re gonna be late for class.”

“Gabriel,” Mr. Roswell called as they headed out the door. Gabriel turned in time to catch the pitying look that crossed Mr. Roswell’s face—the same expression Piper had shot him a few minutes earlier. A look he’d seen plastered on countless people’s faces since his mother’s disappearance. The one that made him feel diseased. The one he hated. “Maybe it is more than a mere crystal.” Mr. Roswell’s tone was hopeful. “And if you can prove it, an A awaits you and your friends for the science project.”

The homeroom bell rang.

“Thanks, Mr. Roswell.” Gabriel, Piper, and Brent ran from the room, excited about their new challenge.

“Guys, we’re going back to the falls,” Gabriel said once they were in the hallway.

Brent rummaged through his locker, and Gabriel leaned against his, deep in thought. A locker door slammed shut beside him. He turned to face Cedric Morley, who was securing his lock. Cedric looked up with a smug expression on his face.

“What? No ‘hola,’ Piper Ramirez?” Cedric mocked.

Gabriel wondered how long he’d been there, and what he’d seen and heard. Cedric could ruin their crystal project. And totally would, if he got the chance.

Piper narrowed her eyes. “Oh shut up, Cedric.”

Gabriel tugged on Piper’s arm. “Don’t let him get to you. He’s nothing.”

Cedric wrinkled his nose and sauntered past them into Mr. Roswell’s classroom as they headed to math class.

Halfway there, Gabriel stopped and slapped his forehead. “You guys go on ahead. I left my homework in my locker. Be right there.” He turned and headed back down the hallway.

Piper laughed. “How do you remember to get dressed in the morning?”

“He barely does, remember?” Brent pinched his nose. “Hurry up, bro.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and headed to his locker. He fiddled with his lock, trying the combination three times before the door finally popped opened. While he hunted through his papers, he heard Cedric mumbling in Mr. Roswell’s classroom. Gabriel couldn’t resist. He crept over to the door, stealing a peek through the crack.

“I can’t just let you retake the test, Cedric.” Mr. Roswell wore a bewildered expression as he faced a defeated looking Cedric Morley. “But your friends just left a moment ago. Perhaps you can get in on their project and make up some marks that way.”

Cedric dropped his overloaded backpack. “My friends?” He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.

“Yes, Cedric. Mr. Stone, Miss. Ramirez, and Mr. Chapman.” Mr. Roswell looked as if he thought Cedric was nuts. But Cedric didn’t have many friends, a fact which seemed to escape Mr. Roswell. “It seems they’re working on a most wonderful project, aiming for an A. I got to preview it today.”

Gabriel’s heart sank. There was no way he would ever let Cedric in on their project, or let him put his sneaky little hands on the crystal. Just as Gabriel was about to walk in to protest, Cedric spoke up.

“I can’t work with them,” he declared. “But maybe I can come up with something better?”

At least Cedric feels the same way I do. Gabriel went back to his locker, grabbed his homework, and took off to class.