High
school junior Ted Brock was about to cross the street in front of
school when he slammed into an invisible wall. He staggered
back as his freshman sister stepped off the curb. Blood dripped from
his nose to his palm.
"You
okay?" Justine hopped back onto the sidewalk. "Is that
blood?"
"Bleh,
yeah." Ted could taste it on his lips. He reached forward, and
felt his hand press against the surface of the wall. "The hell?"
Justine
took a Kleenex from her handbag and handed it to Ted. Ted held it to
his face. He could never remember whether to lean his head forward or
back, but right now, the wall was more important. "Can you feel
this?"
She
stuck her hand out. "Feel what?"
"This
wall." Ted tapped his knuckles on it. "There, you see?"
He flattened his palm on it.
She
stepped down in front of him, behind the purple Kia parked on the
road. "Whoa, your hand's totally flat." Her hand passed
under his arm. "How are you doing that?"
"If
I knew, I'd tell you." Ted snorted, and walked a few paces to
the side, then pushed again. The wall kept on going. All the while,
kids were crossing the street freely. The crosswalks leading away
from the school, on the other hand, were still open.
Justin
started forward. "We better go. We're gonna be late."
Ted
stood with both hands against the wall. "You gotta get help,
Justine. I don't know what to do."
"Who
should I get?"
"I
don't know, anybody. I'm gonna be in a lot of trouble. Can you at
least find Mr. Kaplan, tell him I'm stuck?"
"I
guess..."
"You're
the only one right now who can help me."
Justine
nodded, turned away, and crossed the road along with a couple of
seventh graders who passed unaffected through the wall. On the other
side, Justine waved and yelled, "Bye! I'll see what I can do!"
Ted
waved, and dabbed the tissue on his nose.
He
kept knocking on the wall, trying to find an opening. When he reached
the end of the block, he found that the wall continued beyond even
that. He crossed the road and discovered a corner to the wall. The
wall seemed to surround the entire school. And the whole time, he had
seen dozens of kids walk and ride in without trouble. For some
reason, he was the only person affected.
Soon
his friends, Jeremy and Eli, came walking down the block. Ted met
them at the crosswalk. "Hey, guys."
"Hey,
man," Jeremy said. "What's up?"
"Mainly
this." Ted pushed on the wall and rocked against it. Then he
picked up a stick and whacked it against the wall. The stick snapped
in half. Good thing I don't ride the bus."
"Whoa,
how are you doing that?" Jeremy said. Eli held his hand over his
mouth.
"I
have no clue," Ted said. "You know if there are any burial
grounds under the school?"
"Don't
think so," Jeremy said. "Oh, here comes your girlfriend."
"My
what?" Ted saw Justine come out from the entrance, along with
someone he had been hoping to avoid that day, after what happened
over the weekend. Catherine Crahn followed Justine across the street.
"What
are you--" Ted sputtered. "What's she--?"
"Is
your nose better?" Justine said.
"Yeah,
but the point's over here, you just missed it. Cathy, I'm sorry, this
is a big misunderstanding."
"Well,
what seems to be the trouble?" Cathy said.
Ted
pushed his hand against the wall.
Cathy
leaned forward for a closer look. Her mouth dropped wide open.
"Whoa."
Ted
pushed his shoulder against it. Then, seeing Cathy marvel at it,
pressed his face against it, and puffed out his cheeks. Cathy and
Justine chuckled, but Cathy's laughter quickly switched back to
amazement. "How are you doing that?"
"It's
not me," Ted said. "If I were gonna put some magic force
field around the school, I'd use it to keep the teachers out, not
me."
"This
is incredible. It's got to be magic. Real live magic!" She waved
her hands out. "I can't feel a thing. Is there anything I can
do?"
"Can
you just tell Mr. Kaplan I'm stuck out here? And see if you can find
out who hates me enough to say 'suck it' to the laws of physics."
He turned to Justine. "A teacher's what I wanted to begin with."
"Well,
I thought this would be even better," Justine said. "True
love can get you through this."
"True
love?" Ted said.
Jeremy
snorted. Eli turned away.
"True
love?" Cathy said. She looked at Ted, then his sister. "What
are you talking about?"
"But..."
Justine's brow wrinkled with worry. "You went to the dance, and
had that date on Saturday..."
"Yeah,"
Ted said, "and we broke it off."
"Didn't
he tell you?" Cathy said.
Jeremy
grabbed Ted by the shoulder. "Ted, seriously? You broke up with
her? Already?"
Justine's
face turned bright red. "But... I thought..."
"Not
that I won't help any way I can." Cathy rubbed her arm. "Good
luck, I suppose. I hope you can figure this out."
"Thanks."
Ted leaned his shoulder on the wall. As she walked back to the
school, he remembered all the days he had spent wishing he could talk
to her, hoping she would like him back. He supposed now at least he
didn't have to wonder anymore.
Justine
stared back awkwardly. "Sorry. I didn't realize..."
"Yeah,
Dude," Jeremy said. "Last week you wouldn't shut up about
going to the dance with her. Things go south that quick?"
"Just
not enough in common, that's all," Ted said. "Just go
inside already. I'll think of something."
And
Justine ran back into the school, with Jeremy right behind her.
Eli,
however, lingered at the curb in front of Jeremy. His face looked a
little flushed. "You really broke up with her?"
Ted
shrugged. "What can I say? We just didn't click."
"But...
at the dance..."
"It
was nice, but we went out again on Sunday, and we couldn't seem to
keep a conversation going for more than a minute. I'm still kind of
in bad shape about it. You better go, you're gonna be late."
"A
girl like that... and you..."
"Something
wrong?" Ted said. "Wait a minute... Don't tell me... You've
got a thing for her, too?"
Eli
blushed, and started scratching his neck. He had spent the entire
dance helping Jeremy run the sound system. He'd never mentioned one
thing about girls until now.
Ted
continued, "Oh, man, why didn't you say so?"
"Ugh...
I just couldn't. And when I saw you two..."
"Maybe
when I figure out a way out of this, I'll help you out."
Eli
drooped his head and sighed. He spread his fingers over his face.
"I'm such an idiot. Ted, I'm so sorry."
"Huh?"
"I
have a confession to make." Eli slipped off his backpack. "I
need to show you something." He drew the zipper and pulled out a
faded, red hardcover book. "I found this in my grandmother's
attic a few weeks ago. Seems her grandmother was part of this secret
society in London." He flipped through the pages. Sweat gathered
on his face. "It's a spellbook. See?" He held the book up
to show Ted a page of circular and square and pentagonal diagrams.
"This here can make it rain." He turned to the front. "This
makes it so your pee doesn't smell."
"I
can't imagine anything more useful," Ted said. "Is this
real? Does it work?"
The
bell rang inside the school, loud enough that they could still hear
it. Eli opened the book to a two-page diagram with a series of
concentric shapes. "This one... you set a star here... and a
moon here..."
"Wait
a sec..."
"It
makes a force field. Ted, I am so sorry."
"You
did this?" Ted stormed toward Eli, who slipped back behind the
wall. Ted clawed at the surface. "Get back here, you little
snot."
"I'm
sorry. I was angry and stupid and I don't know what came over me. You
and Cathy... I thought if I..."
Ted
pounded on the wall. "Turn the spell off, or else you're never
gonna wanna leave that building again."
"I
can't," Eli said. "The way I set things up..." Eli
pointed at the corner, where four quarters lay on the ground. "I
used those to put it up."
"So
if I just take them--"
"They're
glued to the ground."
Ted
growled and bashed his fists into the wall. Eli dashed across the
road, into the school. Whatever punishment Mr. Kaplan would give him
for being late, Ted wanted to do even worse.
He
had to get in. He crouched at the corner, over the quarters. They
were arranged in a crescent. He tried to grip his fingers around one
of them, but Eli was telling the truth. There was a layer of glue
underneath it. It seemed like strong stuff, not just ordinary school
glue. Even picking at it with his house keys couldn't dislodge the
coin.
Ted
decided to try the next corner. On the way he sent a text to Jeremy,
to tell him about Eli's spellbook. The message wouldn't send; the
progress bar stalled before it was full. Ted knew Jeremy's phone was
on. Jeremy treated his phone like a lung. He'd already gotten two
detentions this year for texting in class. The barrier must have been
affecting the signal.
At
the next corner, he found a set of nickels arranged into a star. His
keys did no better than on the quarters. But if this was the way to
get rid of that stupid wall, then Ted knew he had to keep going. He
picked at the nickel, sawed at the glue, tried to pry it loose. What
other spells were in that book? If Eli could do this, he could do
just about anything. He could create a powerful storm, subjugate the
student body, or even bring Cathy under his control.
Finally,
he managed to work one of the key's teeth under the nickel. If he had
a hammer, he could pound the key like a chisel, but as it was now, he
would just have to keep picking. He kept picking, pushed the key in,
and pushed it into the ground.
The
nickel popped out and flipped into the air. Ted caught it, and
froze. Did it work? He stood up, legs and hands shaking. He took a
step forward. He lifted his hand over the curb, stretched it out.
His
arm passed right through. He waved it side-to-side, and it passed
over the edge with no resistance.
Ted
crossed the road. Now he could settle the score with Eli. After all
these years, after being friends all through middle school, how could
Eli turn on him like this? If Eli actually had the guts, they could
have talked things out. He could have shared the spellbook and they
could have figured out some cool things to do with it.
Now
as he walked into the school, Ted didn't know what he would do when
he saw Eli. He was mad enough to beat the crap out of him, but he
hurt enough almost to cry. Up to now, he really thought Eli was his
friend.
Ted
signed in and headed for his first class.
He
stepped in during Mr. Kaplan's lecture. "Go ahead and take a
seat," Mr. Kaplan said. "Your friends said you got held up
outside."
"Thanks."
Ted took his seat. It was a few rows away from Eli. Eli had his head
sunk down.
After
class, Eli crept up, wringing his hands. "I'm sorry, Ted,
really. I swear, first thing this afternoon I'm taking the book back
to my grandmother's. I shouldn't have ever let this happen."
"I'll
say you shouldn't," Ted snapped. "Do you have any idea how
insulting today has been?"
"Ted,
if there's any way I can make this up to you, I'll do it, I promise."
As
they were talking, Ted and Eli went to the door. Jeremy had gone
ahead. Cathy was waiting to talk. "Ted, how'd you get through?"
"It
took a while," Ted said, glancing at Eli, "but I managed to
break what was holding up the wall."
"Good,
maybe now we can figure out who could have done this. It's more
amazing the more I think about it. We've basically just seen proof
that magic is real. This could change the entire world."
Eli
began shaking violently. His skin turned pale. Ted wanted to see him
squirm. "I know," he said. "Why, just think of the
damage he could cause if one of his spells got out of hand."
"And
why just you?" Cathy said. "Who could possibly hate you
that much?"
"It
was me!" Eli dropped his backpack on the ground. "I did it.
I'm so sorry. It was all just a big mistake!"
"Eli?"
Eli
took out the book and showed her the spell. "Here it is. This is
how I did it. I shouldn't have even touched this book."
"Eli!"
Cathy touched his shoulder. "Where did you get this? It's real
magic--it's incredible!"
"I...
uh... uh..."
Ted
watched Eli's face turn red again, and felt his own anger begin to
cool down. He had never seen Eli so anxious before. Just a moment
ago, Ted was prepared to cut Eli off altogether. But now, with Eli
sweating and trembling under Cathy's grip, Ted felt sorry for the
poor dope. He was lonely and scared and confused. Now his entire
social world was falling apart.
"Except...
why would you do this to your own friend?"
Ted
didn't want to see that. That would only drop Eli further down a pit
of anger and dejection. This whole situation was totally unlike him.
Ted wanted to keep it that way.
Besides,
in actual fact, part of him wanted to see Eli win her over.
He
clapped his hand on Eli's shoulder, giving him a start. "He
actually confessed outside earlier. It's just a prank that got out of
hand."
"Really?"
Cathy said.
"Really?"
Eli said. He shook his head. "Uh, yeah, really. I mean, you
know, he got to have fun at the dance while me and Jeremy were stuck
running music."
"He
found the book at his grandma's house," Ted said. "Apparently
thought an invisible wall would be hilarious."
"Well,
at least nobody got hurt," Cathy said. "I'd love to know
more about that book."
"Um,
maybe over lunch." Eli looked at his watch. "I gotta get to
Algebra."
Cathy
checked the clock on her phone. "Oh, geez, I need to run, too.
Talk to you later."
She
ran off ahead of Ted and Eli. They walked together for a moment on
the way to second period.
"Thank
you," Eli said, still drunk off of such close contact with
Cathy. "Can you ever forgive me?"
"I
guess so," Ted said. "But until you get rid of that book,
you're on probation."
"Consider
it gone. See ya later." Eli ran off, and Ted strolled through
the hall.
On
his way to his Science class, he passed by Justine, who stopped in
her tracks when she saw him. "Ted! You got in! How?"
"I'll
explain later," Ted said. "I'm gonna be late for class."
He dug into his pocket. "Here's a nickel."
Originally published in Smoke and Flame, 2014
<<>>
I wrote this for Andy Keener's second Talking Time anthology, "Smoke and Flame"—the very first one I ever started and finished for a specific publication. A few months earlier, I had done some brainstorming for future stories, and this was one of those ideas I'd jotted down. I wish I could say there was a much deeper inspiration, but there you go.
What I can say is where some of the details come from. The brother and sister, Ted and Justine, are named after the Byzantine emperor and empress Justinian and Theodora. Eli is named after Eliphas Levi, a 19th-century occultist who wrote books on magic. I haven't read any of them, but I figured it made for a good name. The spell for creating the invisible wall isn't based on anything in particular. I don't know that I've ever seen currency-based magic. As of this writing, I'm in the middle of reading Mistborn, with magic based on ingesting various metals, but that's not exactly the same thing.
To be honest, I almost gave up on this story repeatedly. I kept running up against the deadline for the anthology, and wondered if this story was even worth it. But fortunately (?), everybody else was running up against the deadline, too, and it kept getting extended. So I was able to finish it, untangle some threads in the second draft, and better appreciate it.