Free Last Light Falling by J. E. Plemons Page A

therapeutic for Gabe and me. This is something we’ve needed all these years.
    Juliana’s frail, tiny body makes her look vulnerable and insecure, but when she speaks in her humble and innocent voice, she becomes visible. Her hair is dark as coal, and her beautiful olive skin is purposefullycovered up with long sleeves. She was badly burned on her left arm when she was ten in a house fire that killed her mom. Her dad abandoned her when she was born, leaving her mom to raise her. She lived with her grandmother up until a year ago, and now she’s like us. I don’t think there is a better person we could have befriended at this school than Juliana.
    Since we don’t have classes together, we promise to meet here at lunch from now on. Hopefully, the four of us can keep this bond strong, because we are probably going to need each other throughout the school year. Jacob excuses himself from the table before the lunch period ends.
    “I’m sorry, guys, but I have to be somewhere early for the next class. We’ll catch up tomorrow, okay?” Jacob says. When he leaves, Juliana and Gabe both look at me as if they are waiting for me to say something.
    “So, you going to ask this guy out or not, because apparently he’s too shy to do it,” says Gabe with a smirk.
    “You might want to keep your mouth shut when you eat, Gabe.” I point my fork in his direction. His smirk has amazingly vanished as he stuffs his face.
    I’m inclined to admit I may have somewhat of a small crush on Jacob, but I won’t let my emotions carry this conversation about it any further. I’m not about to let Gabe’s comment get to me. I’m not embarrassed about it as much as I’m a little annoyed about Gabe trying to perpetuate something he knows nothing about. I admit I’m attracted to Jacob, but that’s my business. I don’t know quite what it is, but there’s something about him that makes him more attractive than the rest of the boys in this school.
    Of course this day wouldn’t be complete without another McKenzie sighting. Coming from the side of our table, I feel those green eyes gunning for me.
    “Well, looks as though you took my advice this morning. Nice to see that you’re sticking to your own kind. Let’s try to keep it they from now on,” she says.
    That’s it. I’ve had enough; she’s going down right here, right now. I push my chair out has hard as I can, but Gabe grabs me and reminds me of more important things. “Arena, stop. If you do this, you risk getting expelled, muddling our plans this afternoon. Remember?” he says with his eyebrows arched.
    I almost forgot about Finnegan and Father Joseph. I sit back in my chair and try to calm myself.
    “That’s right, listen to your brother, he seems to be the smart one,” McKenzie says.
    “It’s not worth it, Arena, not now anyway,” says Juliana.
    “I promise you before the end of the school year, you and I are going to have more than words,” I say with my eyes fixed on hers.
    “Is that a threat?”
    “Bitch, you wouldn’t know the difference.”
    “Well, let me make this plainly clear. If you think you don’t have much now, I’ll make positively sure my dad sees that your family never will,” she says with a fake smile, before she walks away.
    And it just hit me, Woods. McKenzie is the daughter of Mayor Allen Woods. Mayors really have no power to persuade or the authority to regulate, punish, or judge since there are no state or city governments in place anymore. But if you are appointed by the federal government as magistrate, then those powers which flow from the top can be just as dangerous. Supremacy in this nation has been reduced to intimidation, and the totalitarianism it reflects has been a masquerade for years. The extremists believe it to be run by foreign nations, which isn’t all that unbelievable.
    “She is just jealous of you, Arena,” says Juliana.
    Really? Jealous of what?
There is nothing about me that’s all that special. Why would anyone