Free Relic by Steve Whibley

from the right. I tilted my head. It was one of the security guards from the previous day, not the one from my vision, but one who would probably recognize me. Who was I kidding? They probably had a picture of me at the ticket counter with a note to TASER ON SIGHT if I was stupid enough to return. My mom had called ahead, I reminded myself. It should be okay.
    â€œYeah, yeah,” the old guy said. “Don’t antagonize them. Heaven forbid we antagonize those loons.”
    A few older teenagers pushed their way through the protestors and joined the line behind us. “Awesome,” a girl with light blue hair and an eyebrow ring said.
    â€œI know, right?” another girl in the group said.
    I recognized the second girl’s voice and practically choked. It was Rylee. I turned my body and lowered the brim of my cap.
    â€œI can’t wait to see this head thing,” the blue-haired girl added.
    I felt a tinge of guilt. That monk hadn’t liked the way we had gawked at the relic, and now, thanks to that stupid article, it was getting more attention than ever. It wasn’t really my fault. Was it?
    I risked a quick glance up to see if the guard had left and ended up locking eyes with him. I jerked my head away and turned my attention to the brick wall on my right, picking at it as though it was the most interesting thing I’d ever seen.
    â€œDean?” It was Rylee’s voice from behind me. “Dean, is that you?”
    I hunched over and looked down at the concrete and shook my head.
    Lisa laughed nervously. “Hi, Rylee. No, no, this isn’t Dean.”
    â€œYeah,” Colin said. He dropped his voice to just above a whisper. “Dean wouldn’t want to be spotted here after the incident in the paper.” There was a pause and I imagined him giving Rylee a wide-eyed please play along look. Then he said, “So, uh, what brings you guys here?”
    Nice, I thought, change the subject.
    â€œWho is that, then?” another girl pressed. The officer’s thick-soled boots stepped closer, and even though I didn’t look up, I felt his gaze boring into me.
    â€œWho?” Colin asked, his voice cracking. There was an awkward silence, and I suddenly felt Colin grab my shoulder. “Oh, this is…erm…”
    â€œIt’s just…” Lisa began.
    â€œJust…my little sister,” Colin said.
    Lisa groaned, and Rylee and her friends snickered. I imagined everyone around us was looking at me. I wanted to spin around and kick Colin right in the shins, but instead I just clenched my fists and tried to make myself smaller and more sister-like. Colin was a great friend, and he always had my back, but sometimes he just said the stupidest things.
    â€œYou two look familiar.” This time it was the guard. Colin sounded like he was about to say something, but the guard added, “Yeah, you were here yesterday. You’re friends with that crippled kid who beat up that monk.”
    â€œHe didn’t actually beat up the—” Lisa abruptly stopped as the guard took another step forward. The whole area fell silent. I tried to press myself into the bricks. A large hand gripped the brim of my cap and turned my head slowly around and then finally lifted the hat off my head.
    â€œYour sister sure is pretty,” the girl with the blue hair mocked, while her friends snickered. Rylee gave me an apologetic look.
    The guard seemed pleased. “Overton said you’d be coming by, but I thought you’d change your mind when you saw them.” He nodded to the protestors.
    â€œStarting to wish I had,” I muttered. I became aware of the attention directed my way from the other people in the line and considered sprinting away and hiding under a rock somewhere.
    â€œIs that the kid from the paper?” a woman’s voice asked.
    â€œIt looks like him, but he had crutches in the paper,” another voice said.
    â€œYou think