Descending Star

CHARLIE

Zoey paced the catwalk atop the climbing wall and worked down the line, detaching and dropping all the top ropes. She took them down most nights, after especially wet days. The rain swelled them, jammed the mechanical ascenders, made more work for the students, and raised the danger level. Every night she took the coils in and arrayed them in a circle around the store's furnace. One night of intermittent exposure to the out-draft of the furnace never really dried the rope entirely, but it did reduce the swelling.

People still milled around on the picnic tables below. Many took pictures. The release of the Outside issue had been a powerful adrenaline shot to her ephemeral fame. That would fade by Monday, but she made a spectacle of herself each night, merely in the process of inspecting and packing up the gear. She had insisted to Archie Newton that there should be no easy ascent to the top catwalk. Students had no reason to be on it, and he agreed that it would be very bad to have kids playing up here. All egress had been removed after the completion of the climbing wall, and not even a service ladder remained. The catwalk could only be reached by a Grade Five climb.

From atop the catwalk, she could just barely see Ben Swan intermittently through gaps in the trees, a tiny figure jogging away on the main road. She produced her phone and caught Kira at work.

"Hey, you. Survived another day, I see."

"I'm in second term. New batch of recruits. Filled to capacity, again," Zoey said, with just a hint of pride.

"And no one's died."

Zoey crossly said, "No one's lost a fingernail. How's Cleo? How's Dad?" In that order.

"Oh, they're both asking about you. So, you'll be headed back in a few weeks, once this term lets out."

"We'll see. I might stay on through the final week of August, until school starts. You know, I'm so busy with work and so exhausted at night that I don't think I've seen a bit of Forks beyond this parking lot."

Kira thought darkly that her daughter's lack of a social life up there was just as well. Sara Newton had informed her that the Quileute boy seemed to be impossible to discourage and wouldn't stop sniffing around.

"And besides," Zoey went on, "I'm thinking I ought to keep my options open. The store gets constant inquiries about the availability of Fall Term classes."

"Zoey Eustace. You can't possibly be thinking about staying up there. That's out of the question! You have senior year, and this limelight you're basking in won't last."

"I know, I know. Fame is fickle. But I seem to be a commodity now, and there is a high school up here, Mom. I could transfer. Of course I'd have to bring Cleo up, but Sara says my apartment is kitten-friendly."

Kira's tone turned to ice. "I'll just have words with Sara Newton."

Zoey didn't believe they would fight about it. They were fast friends. They adored each other. Sara Newton gabbed Mom's ear off, and vice versa, every time one called the other.

Her mother went on, "Honestly, honey, what is there for you, up there? The Newtons are very nice, and the free room and board is a sweet gesture, but don't you feel a bit indentured? Chained to that place without a vehicle? They're paying you a pittance."

Zoey dropped her voice to a whisper, "Actually, Mom, I'm making pretty good coin. I'm doing rather well on cash tips."

Kira quietly asked, "How well?"

"I'm averaging about a hundred dollars per student. That's twice the course registration fee."

"My God!" Kira knew that each of the four summer classes was filled to capacity, at fifty students each. Kira had no difficulty with the math. Cash, under the table, tax-free. She harshly queried, "Are the Newtons aware of this? You're robbing from them in a sense, you know."