Emma: Book 1

Chicago

Chris is furiously rummaging through drawers, tossing all his clothes on the floor.

“Is this a bad time?” I ask, sidestepping a pile of jeans.

Chris rushes in the bathroom, deodorant cans and bars of soap flying out the doorway. “I am not buying all of you dinner, so outta my way, Ian. I’m going to win.”

I chuckle. “You’re pathetic.”

Chris brushes past me to the bunk bed, jumping and swinging up onto his mattress. He throws down a magazine and his pajamas, flying back through the air. I instinctively duck and roll toward the closet.

“The heck, Chris,” I mutter. “Decapitate me, why don’t you.”

Chris suddenly halts in the middle of the room in an abrupt moment of stillness. “Ian!”

“Hm?”

“Have you seen my lucky socks?”

I lean against the closet door. “You have lucky socks?”

“Yeah, they’re the obnoxious yellow ones…seen them?”

I shake my head. “Sorry.”

“Well, I can’t find them.”

“Hm,” I frown, pretending to ponder. “Have you checked the floor already?”

He growls at me. “Poet!”

I shake my head. “Check the laundry.”

“Oh!” He says, lunging toward his laundry basket.

I shake my head again and begin packing, too, pulling my luggage out of the closet.

As I toss my things in the suitcase, Nate suddenly comes in through our bathroom.

“Yo, Chris!” He calls. “I think these are yours.”

Nate flicks two highlighter yellow socks at Chris who crows happily, dropping to the floor to tug them on.

“Haha!” He cries, like he’s armed for battle. “Now, I’ll definitely win!”

Nate shakes his head. “I’m halfway done already.”

Chris angrily shoves Nate back in the bathroom. I sigh and resume packing.

“Oh, it’s gonna be a long day.” I groan.

About twelve o’clock, we collectively take a break and meet in Meredith’s room. It’s the only one with a full kitchen. The twins’ and Meredith’s rooms are joined through a closet door-looking door, which Lillian dubbed the Narnia Gateway, so the twins keep crossing through to pack.

Meredith has us all make our own sandwiches and places everything from peanut butter to tomatoes on the counter.

“All the food has to be eaten,” she announces.

Since we’ve been here for several weeks now, there isn’t much left in our vacation home, as we nicknamed our Plaza Hotel suites.

I make myself a bologna sandwich, and Julianna crinkles her nose, making herself a CLT—cheese, lettuce, and tomato.

“Even if I ate meat,” she tells me, “I would never eat bologna. It’s too suspicious.”

I chuckle. “Even if you ate meat, Jules, you wouldn’t care.”

Chris extracts a yogurt from the refrigerator to eat while he builds himself a smelly sandwich, literally topped with every item on the counter.

“Even if I didn’t eat meat,” Chris says, spooning blueberry yogurt into his mouth, “I’d still eat this sandwich.”

Lillian makes a gagging noise. “Chris, you’re really disgusting. You’re like a garbage disposal—like Scooby-Doo.”

Nate chuckles as Chris imitates Scooby begging for a Scooby snack. He taps the bar counter and says to Meredith, “Where are our malteds? Come on, Gang. The service here is terrible.”

Lillian giggles. “I don’t think we have a choice, Fred.”

“Let’s dance, Daphne.” He winks at her.

Julianna rolls her eyes. “My vision is way too good for me to be Velma.” She smiles up at me. “Right, Shaggy?”

I grin, flipping my too long bangs out of my face. “Right, Jules.”

“So does this mean you’ll scratch my belly?” Chris asks, leaning toward me.

I push him away. “In your dreams.”

Meredith chuckles. “Can’t you guys just eat your sandwiches in peace?”

“Yeah, Gang,” Nate laughs. “Eat your lunch. We gotta get back to our latest case, but I’m afraid we’ll have to split up.”

“No!” Chris groans.

I frown at him. “If you jump in my arms, I will drop you.”

Chris crows with laughter as Meredith rolls her eyes.

“You guys need to go back to school,” she says. “This is ridiculous.”

I laugh and polish off my sandwich. I throw away the paper plate and return to the bar counter, leaning my elbows on the hard surface.

“Uhm,” I announce, “For the record, I’m done packing.”

“Aw, man!” Chris frowns. “No way!”

Nate shakes his head. “Well, Gang, it’s been groovy, but I must return to packing. I’m nearly done.”

Chris jabs at him. “I will beat you, Nathan.”

“Oooh,” Lillian smiles. “I think he just threatened you, Nathaniel.”

He frowns at her. “Like you’re almost done, Liles.”

She giggles. “Actually…”

Julianna snorts. “Right. Her suitcase is practically empty.”

“Well, I will fix that.” Lillian sniffs, standing up. “Right now.”

“Throw your trash away,” Meredith calls after her daughter who is disappearing through the Narnia Gateway.

“I’ll get it.” Julianna offers. “I’m done packing, too.”

She smiles at me. “Figures you’d win.”

I laugh, and Nate says hastily, “Thanks for lunch, Meredith, but I’m being showed up. I’m going back to my room.”

“All right,” Meredith smiles. “You and Chris can both be excused.”

Julianna takes all the trash and throws it away. “I think I’ll go to the GALA Hub. Wanna join me, Ian?”

I shrug. “Why not?”

“All right, let me go get my stuff.” Julianna smiles. “Be right back.”

She follows Lillian into their room. Chris finishes his yogurt and sandwich, rubbing his hands on his jeans.

“Yeah, I think I’ll go now, Meredith,” he says, tossing the empty yogurt cup. “See you later!”

“Okay,” she calls, “Meet back here at four. Tell Nate please!”

“Will do!” Chris replies, jogging back to our room.

Julianna returns, her bag slung across her torso. “Ready?”

I nod.

“Let’s go!” She runs a hand through her hair, pulling it up. “Be back later, Mom!”

We leave and go down to the elevator again.

“You do realize we don’t have any GALATablets, right?” I ask her, referring to the League’s ingenius blend of computer and networking technology.

She grins. “Yeah, I just love the Hub. Best little coffee shop ever.”

“You don’t drink coffee.” I remind her.

She shrugs. “Does it matter?”

I laugh. “I guess not.”

We hop on the elevator and ride it up a few floors. The GALA Hub is basically the League’s version of Starbucks. GALA-friendly and chic, the Hub mainly serves coffee and snacks. We head toward the Hub, Julianna animatedly but nervously chattering about life in Chicago.

“Mom says we’re done with Outpost schooling.” She grins. “Hooray!”

I nod. “Finally.”

When enrolled in the ROP, we don’t get to experience League School although we have to take some required League classes. They deal with basic League issues, like how it works and how we as mystical creatures play a part in the League. There are also ROP-required classes that specifically train us for living in the human world. We are taught how to handle keeping the League a secret, an oath all members have sworn to uphold.

However, because we’re living among humans, we aren’t taking these classes like normal mystical creatures. We have to go to a League Outpost, which is a League extension office located in a main city, like a state capitol.

Like Patric said, Outposts hire mystical creatures, or at least any eligible to interface with humans. Outpost workers teach different League classes as well as deal with the mystical creatures in the area, should they have any problems or situations that require League assistance.

We walk into the best little coffee shop ever, and Julianna orders a small passion fruit tea.

“You’re ridiculous.” I tell her.

She grins and says, “Hey, don’t look now, but your girlfriend just walked in.”

I frown at her. “Nicole is not my girlfriend.”

She giggles. “Oh, I know that.”

I shake my head as a pair of arms wraps itself around my waist.

“Hey, Ian,” Nicole croons.

I unwind her arms and greet, “Hi.”

She pouts up at me, and I shake my head as Julianna snickers.

“Nicole,” I say quietly, “Fancy meeting you here.”

Nicole laughs, tucking a strand of strawberry blond hair behind her ear, “I know, right?”

I stare at her.

“Anyway,” she waves her hand, “I just want you to know my offer still stands.”

I shake my head. “I’m not leaving my team, Nicki. How many times do I have to tell you?”

She frowns, glancing at Julianna. “Right. Because you’re taken.”

“Friends,” I stress, “Julianna and I are just friends, you thickheaded psychic.”

“Whatever,” she says indifferently.

Before I enrolled in the ROP, I was attending normal League school. I hadn’t met any of “the Gang,” and Nicole was one of my…acquaintances. I’d say that we were friends, but she had this crazy notion that we were more than that. I couldn’t change her mind.

When I did enroll in the ROP, she took it personally and became rather angry with me, enrolling in the ROP to chase me down. It didn’t help matters any when she discovered I was happier with my new family. She offered for her family to take me in, but I told her no, explaining I’d found a best friend (Julianna) and my perfect family. Nicole interpreted it to mean I liked Julianna instead of her and—what can I say? Trying to explain anything to her is like trying to make the earth reverse direction and spin the other way.

For the record, I haven’t tried that.

Julianna clears her throat. “We…uh, we just got reassigned.” She says, changing the subject.

“Oh?” Nicole asks. “You guys grounded?”

“No, no, we’re still in the field.” Julianna replies. “We’re just moving to Chicago. That’s all.”

“Chicago?” She scoffs. “And I’m stuck with Atlanta? Perhaps I need to speak with the Council.”

I shake my head. “Nicki, just stop. Okay?”

She frowns at me.

“Just leave me and my team alone already.” I say.

“Easy for you to say.” She angrily retorts.

I blink. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

She huffs. “Oh, just shut up, Ian!”

She stalks off, heading toward the counter to order.

I glance at Julianna who shrugs. Nicole is so dumb sometimes.

“Come one,” I tell Julianna. “Let’s go to the Gardens.”

“Okay.” She complies, sipping her tea.

We leave, Nicole fuming at the counter awaiting her mocha.

The ROP works almost like Social Services and places mystical creatures in different teams across the globe. Fortunately, I was placed with “the Gang,” with Meredith as our guardian, or adoptive mom to humans.

Except Julianna and Lillian are her children. Meredith’s actually rather lucky. Most human mothers aren’t reunited with their psychic children.

All psychics start out as wholly mortal children. Before the age of two, we go through a stage of psychic development known as Metamorphosis. Literally, the human inside us dies, and the angel inside survives to reside within a human shell. The result is a very sickly child, and most mothers take their ill children to the doctor. At that point, some certified League member who is also a practicing medical doctor recognizes the child as a psychic, and the League swoops in to take away the child and convince the mother her offspring died.

After the child has reached Stage Two Development, the young psychic begins aging at a speed half of the normal speed for a human child. So, while a human toddler celebrates his third birthday, so does the psychic, but a year later, the psychic is only three-and-a-half.
This type of growth continues until the psychic reaches his early- to mid-twenties, when he reaches the stage of development known as Stasis, where the psychic stops aging altogether for roughly six hundred years. After which, the psychic reaches Stage Three Development and ages at the normal human speed, dying looking eighty-something but approximately seven hundred-years old.

Because of the way psychics develop, having their human mother care for them is usually impractical and impossible, but the League apparently makes exceptions. I don’t mind—Meredith is a wonderful mom.

“One plus to moving,” Julianna says, yanking me out of my reverie.

“Hm?” I say, looking down at her.

“A fresh start.” She smiles.

I chuckle. “A new beginning?”

She laughs, reaching up to twist her hair around her finger. “But I bet it won’t be much different. Humans are still humans, and we still hang out with them.”

I nod. “It’s more like hitting a reset button.”

She giggles. “Yeah.”

She takes another gulp of tea and comments, “It’s too bad Nicole is such a big idiot. You’d be perfect together.”

I snicker. “I could woo her with my poetry.”

Julianna gives me a slight shove. “I’m serious!”

“No, you’re delusional.”

She laughs. “Aw, come on, she’s not that bad.”

I glare at her. “If you think she’s so great, you can date her.”

Julianna roars with laughter. “All right, all right! I’ll leave you be!”

“Promises, promises.” I smile.

“Hey,” she cries, pushing me harder.

I laugh and reach out to muss her hair. She growls at me and pulls her hair down, thick, wavy red locks flowing down her back.

I shake my head and tease, “You hippie.”

Julianna sticks her tongue out at me, and I chuckle, pulling at the branches and leave above my head.

After we walk through the Gardens, we head over to the Library, Julianna heading straight to the health section. She finds some book about eating and sits at a table. I pull a book about Chicago and join her. After a while, we trade books and eventually retrieve more.

As it nears four thirty, Chris meets up with us, pausing to chat with the media specialist at the checkout counter. He comes to our table and picks up the Chicago book.

“Sup, Chris?” Julianna whispers.

“Hey, guys,” he grins. “I beat them both!”

I roll my eyes, and Julianna quietly giggles. “Has either one lost yet?”

He shrugs. “I think Meredith said she’ll pay for dinner anyway.”

Julianna shakes her head. “Cheap.”

He nods in agreement. “But we still have to take all our stuff down to the hangar.”

“True,” Julianna says. “By five thirty?”

“Yeah, we have an hour.” Chris glances at me. “I found a pair of jeans, and they totally don’t fit me.”

I chuckled. “Guess I missed them.”

“They’re a bit long.” Chris grins.

Julianna snickers. “Well, let’s go. Mom will probably want us to check our rooms anyway.”

Chris nods. “Yeah, she actually wanted me to come get your guys…You were harder to find than I expected.”

“All right, let’s put these books back.” Julianna decides. “Then we’ll go.”

We scramble to replace the books and then hurry back to our rooms. I take the pair of jeans from Chris and stuff them in my suitcase, lugging it with me to Meredith’s.

“Sheesh, it took long to pack,” Lillian is complaining, sitting on a bar stool, Nate by her nodding.

Meredith shakes her head. “It shouldn’t have. You guys just had to bring the whole world with you.”

Julianna snickers. “Nice, Mom.”

She chuckles. “Hey. Okay, everyone packed?”

We all nod a yes.

“Well, I want you to double-check each others’ rooms. Another pair of eyes can’t hurt.”

We nod again and break up, Chris and me passing through the Narnia Gateway. Chris discovers two mismatched socks under Lillian’s bed, and I find both their pairs under Julianna’s bed. Chris and I look at each other.

“Who gets them?” He asks me.

I shrug.

We decide to hand them to Meredith and continue to search. We don’t find anything else, but Nate discovers dental floss in our bathroom. None of us claim it, so Nate throws it out.

The twins don’t find any missed item, so Meredith commands us to take our things to the hangar.

We barely make it there before five thirty. We check in our luggage and receive our plane tickets. Once we’re ready for our nine o’clock flight, we head down to dinner.

“Eating in the cafeteria always reminds me of high school.” Meredith comments.

We collectively nod in understanding.

“Nervous?” She asks us.

Nate shrugs. “Not me.”

“Me neither.” Chris agrees.

Julianna chews her bottom lip. “Not really,” she says slowly.

“Yeah, not really.” I echo her.

Lillian snorts. “Am I the only one here unable to lie? Of course I’m nervous! I’ve never been to Chicago, and I don’t know much about it.”

Meredith nods. “You make a good point, Lilly. We’re definitely in uncharted territory.”

“But like I told Ian earlier,” Julianna counters. “Humans are still humans, and we still hang out with them. It’s not that uncharted.”

Meredith smiles. “True.”

“And we’re still a team,” Nate adds. “We real have nothing to worry about.”

“How sweet,” Chris snickers.

Nate goes to thwack Chris, but Chris blocks him and flicks him instead.

“It is important for us to stick together,” Lillian agrees. “We are a team.”

“Well, this team is going to miss its flight,” Meredith warns us. “Come on. We’ll have plenty of time to chat on the plane.”

We gather up our trash, throw it away, and make our way back to the hangar. We hand over our tickets and climb aboard the small jet, getting near the almost-empty back. Within the next twenty minutes, all the other passengers have boarded, and within the following twenty minutes, we’ve taken off and are now shooting over Greenland, south toward the United States.

The flight isn’t overly interesting, so we all fall asleep, waking up just as we prepare to land at O’Hare.

The skyline is breathtaking: the glittering office buildings and shiny apartment complexes, lit-up Navy Pier, blurred lights on the city’s traffic. Lake Michigan is dark from the overcast sky, thick fog rolling off the waves and into the city.

“Holy cow,” Julianna whispers at my side. She looks at me. “That book you picked out doesn’t do Chicago justice.”

I nod. “It’s beautiful.”

She smiles. “Way more than Atlanta!”

Julianna glances at Lillian who nods in agreement.

“It already feels better,” she remarks, popping her jaw.

Nate nudges Chris awake, and he joins our gawking.

We land and unload, quickly retrieving our luggage at the private terminal’s baggage claim. We head out to the curb, Lillian’s Chrysler minivan and Meredith’s Volkswagen EOS already waiting. We throw the suitcases in the trunks, and Meredith takes Nate to be her navigator, Lillian tailing her to our new house.

Roughly an hour later, we pull up an unfamiliar steep driveway and into a two-car garage. We stand on the lawn in a daze, gawking at our new house.

“Wow,” Nate whistles. “The Council outdid themselves this time.”

Lillian nods. “This is so crazy.”

Meredith flips through the portfolio. She chuckles. “They also provided us with a list of possible churches. Ready to be adventurous tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow’s Sunday?” Chris asks in disbelief.

Meredith nods. “You guys start school on Monday.”

“No way!” Julianna cries.

“Yup. The Council didn’t give us much prep time.”

“But they gave us a sweet location.” Nate points out. “This is gonna be good.”

We nod in agreement.

We grab our suitcases and wander inside, acquainting ourselves with our new surroundings. I work my way upstairs and start down the hallway, dismissing the room with flowers and the other room with a single bed.

I push open the door to the last bedroom and find mine and Chris’ twin beds, our desks, bookcases, and the chest of drawers all familiarly arranged inside.

I drop my suitcase on the carpet and collapse on my bed, my feet hanging off the edge. I can see the stars outside through the blinds covering the two huge windows next to me.

I know a sky is a sky, but this one feels different. This isn’t just a mundane move to a mundane place. The air here is electric, and it makes the spot between my shoulder blades throb.

We’re in Sweet Home Chicago now.