The Amanda Project: Book One

The Amanda Project: Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

"You're getting the bear."

It was weird to be out of school so early, but since math class was canceled, Amanda convinced me to go with her to Lakshmi's Henna Tattoos. She'd said it was because she was thinking about getting one, but almost as soon as we walked in the door, the focus changed from which tattoo she might get to which one I would.

"Amanda, I'm not getting anything. I don't even have any money on me." I added the "on me" quickly, though the sentence would have been equally true without it.

"It's my treat." She walked over to the wall where the tattoo designs were displayed. There were hearts, anchors, letters, and words. Some of the designs were enormous, like a skyline of New York City with the Empire State Building in the middle, some were tiny, like the peace signs and doves I associate with hippies.

Amanda focused on a spot on the wall. "I think this is the one."

"You're crazy," I said, but I went over to see what she was looking at.

"Remember, the bear is your totem."

Amanda had already taught me about totems. Apparently we have animals that can protect and guide us. Usually it takes a while to figure out which animal spirit we're associated with, but because of my name, Amanda had immediately known my totem was the bear.

Most people are named for normal things like family members and important historical figures. Not me. I'm named for a constellation. No, really. Callista is for Callisto, also known as Ursa Major (the Great Bear). I know, you've never heard of it. No one has, unless your mom, like mine, happens to be a world famous astronomer. If you've ever heard of anything even remotely connected with Callisto, it's the Big Dipper (which, sorry to burst your bubble, isn't actually a constellation, it's an asterism), which is part of Callisto. My mom is named Ursula, for Ursa Minor, the Little Bear (of which, yes, you guessed it, the Little Dipper is the most famous part). Technically, I'm named forbothCallisto and Ursula, since I'm Callista Ursula Leary.

I looked at the bear on the wall. It was a small brown bear standing on its hind legs, its right front paw reaching up as if it were about to grab some honey or whatever it is bears reach for. The bear was cute, the way bears are, but there was also something brave about it. It looked strong and steady, like nothing could knock it over. Without realizing what I was doing, I reached my hand up and touched the plastic display.

I hadn't noticed Amanda watching me, but when I turned my head, her eyes looked deep into mine.

"You were destined to have this tattoo."

I laughed. "You can't be destined to have something that's going to disappear in a few days. Destiny's about bigger stuff. You know, things that last. Things that are permanent."

"But nothing is permanent," said Amanda. "The only permanent thing is change."

Everything seemed to stop for a second, to freeze, as if all the energy of the universe was focused on me, on my face and my arm and my locker right in front of me. I couldn't quite catch my breath, and I felt my hand lift slightly as if the bear on my locker were calling to the one on my forearm.

"You recognize this. It means something to you." Mr. Thornhill wasn't asking a question at all, he was making an observation.

His tone was gentler than it had been all morning, and for a second I was tempted to tell him the truth. Yes, I recognize this. Yes, it's a message from Amanda. Where is she? I need to talk to her.

"I'm named for Ursa Major," I said, surprised that my voice didn't shake.

"The Great Bear," he seemed to think aloud. "Who would know that?"

I forced myself to shrug. "Anyone who knows the legend of Callisto, I guess. Or who knows about astronomy. It's not like it's privileged information." Remembering how casually Hal had leaned against his locker while Mr. Thornhill stared at him, I forced myself to meet the vice principal's gaze.

"Does Amanda know?"

I made myself shrug. "I really don't know what she knows about astronomy."

"She's a brilliant math student."

She's a brilliant everything. "There's more to astronomy than math," I said.

Mr. Thornhill gave me a look that made it clear just how furious he was, then he gestured for me to open my locker. Once I had, I moved to the side, and while he went through my books and notebooks, I made myself stare at the pictures of me, Heidi, Traci, and Kelli that lined the inside of the door. In every single one of them we were all smiling, like nothing bad had ever happened to us. Like nothing bad could ever happen to us.

Mr. Thornhill didn't take anything out of my locker, just poked at what was inside it and stepped away, as if there were nothing even remotely interesting there. If I hadn't been so relieved, I might have been offended.

I shut the door and slipped the lock through the hole of the handle as Mr. Thornhill started walking back down the corridor toward the main office. I wondered if we were supposed to go with him or if he was finished with us now that he'd seen we weren't hiding anything, but he'd only gone a short distance before he snapped, "Follow me." He set a fast pace, and I had to jog a little in order to keep a few steps behind him.

Just as Mr. Thornhill turned the corner to the main lobby, I felt a hand on my arm. I looked down and saw that Hal was gripping me just below the elbow. Nia was on his other side, and he was holding her the same way.

When he saw we were both looking down, he let go of us and eased the sleeve of his shirt up about six inches. There, in the exact same spot as mine, was a brick-colored tattoo of the same cat that had been on his locker. As soon as she saw it, Nia looked up at Mr. Thornhill's back, then reached over to her left arm with her right hand and slid her sweater up just enough to reveal the image I'd seen earlier on her locker. A second later, she slid it back down again.

"Let's go, kids," said the vice principal. He was already at the door to the main office, holding it open with his back. We were no more than twenty feet away from him.

Fifteen feet. Ten feet. I raised my right arm in front of my face and reached behind the back of my arm with my left hand, like I had an itch on my shoulder I needed to scratch.

Seven feet. Five feet.

Pressing my hand against my bicep, I slid the fabric of my shirt up just enough to reveal the bear's reaching paw.

"Oh my god," whispered Nia, and we crossed the threshold from the lobby into the office.