11. Relic

Chapter eleven

Relic

L ev wore a full-ass fuzzy, overstuffed, shark mascot costume. Even though he had the head of the shark pulled back just enough to see his face, it was still a fucking shark costume. Yet everyone in our therapy group stared at me and Macie as we walked in. Maybe it was because we came into together, her laughing at a stream of bad jokes I had been saying to her like, "What did the fish say when it hit a wall?"

"What?"

"Dam."

The jokes made her giggle. I liked hearing her laugh, and this standup routine would be here all night as long as she smiled. Because seeing her upset bothered me. I wished it didn't, but it did. Still—fucking shark costume.

Or everyone could have been gaping because me and Macie were in nearly matching ridiculous outfits of khaki shorts and polos that had the name Bluegrass Mountain stamped on the left-hand corner. Hers was blue, mine a tacky orange, the colors signifying that I was at the bottom of the mountain, and she was a supervisor.

Of course, Macie Hutchins was a supervisor. She was the type of girl who excelled at all she tried. She ran for President of our freshman class and won. Got shot during a carjacking, almost died, and came back a few months later driving by herself without a damn bit of help. I could tell she was upset she only got a few blocks. Thing was, those blocks took more courage than most people have ever found in themselves in a lifetime.

I sat in my typical seat, Macie hers, but for the first time since we started group, she met my gaze and she looked alive. Color in her cheeks, light in her eyes, a slight Mona Lisa smile like she had a secret with me.

"Are we writing our challenge for the week?" Melanie asked. "I have multiple ones."

"I'll give Melanie my time for challenges for the week if it'll help her," Lev offered, "and she needs more time. Hers are more interesting than mine."

I glanced at him. "Really?"

"Yeah." He had to turn his entire shark body to look at me when he spoke. "Mine are mundane."

"You're wearing a fucking shark costume."

"Language," said Zuri. "And be nice."

I jacked my thumb at Lev as I gave a what-the-hell glance at Zuri. "He's wearing a shark costume, and I don't get to say fuck or point out that his challenge for the week would be more interesting?"

Lev gave me a smile like he had become smitten with me. "Aw, you think I'm interesting? I knew I was going to like you."

Sitting behind her desk, Zuri gripped her pencil and her gaze jumped back and forth between me and Macie. Instead of answering Melanie, Lev, or me, she closed her laptop, stood, and joined us in the circle. She pointed a fingernail between me and Macie. "You two work together?"

"Macie helped me get a job there," I said. "And she's helping with a ride." I added that last part since Zuri had now been on my case about my transportation issues via text since our last visit.

Zuri swung her attention to Macie. "That was nice of you."

Macie shrugged like it was nothing, but what she had done for me was huge. "Relic could have gotten the job on his own. Bluegrass Mountain is always hiring."

"Naw, she had to work some magic to get me on and you know why," I said to Zuri for effect.

"Oh," Lev clapped his clothed fin hands together. "Intrigue! I want to know why, too!"

"Point is," I said, "Macie saved my ass."

Macie gave a glare of, "you can quit anytime," but I gave her a not-on-your-life raise of my eyebrows because it was fun needling her.

"Will they work with my schedule?" Demarius asked. "Because my employer is giving me a hard time for getting off for football practices. We have one-a-days from seven in the morning until noon, and then I need off for therapy."

"We don't open until eleven in the morning during the week," Macie answered in that confident voice she had in class when supplying an answer or giving a speech at a student assembly. The one that said, I-am-woman-and-I-know-what-the-fuck-I'm-doing-and-my-mind-can-kick-your-mind's-ass. "We typically open with a skeleton crew in rides as most visitors hit the waterpark first. You wouldn't need to come in until at least three, but they'd ask you to work until close. They're flexible when it comes to my therapy appointments. The place is huge into mental health awareness."

"Can you get me in?" Demarius asked. "The sooner the better."

"Sure. Give me your number—"

Macie couldn't even get the whole sentence out before Melanie said, "I want a job there, too. I heard you can be fourteen to work there and I'm fifteen now. I'll be sixteen in the fall, and I want a huge party, but I'm fifteen now and my mom will take me. Can I work there? I want to work with all of you." She clasped her hands together and had such a plea to her voice that I imagined that's what baby seals looked and sounded like before a walrus ate them.

Macie had that someone-splashed-water-on-my-face expression and it made me chuckle. She shot a glare at me, and that made me chuckle more. This was what happened when anyone was helpful, and Macie was the type of girl who would always be kind while I'd be the guy who looked out for himself.

"Um…yes," Macie answered, but it sounded more like a question. "Give me your number and—"

"Okay, you talked me into it," Lev said in a dreamlike way, and he even stretched his fins like he was a cat waking from a nap. "I'll work for you, too." He leaned over to me like we were bros and no one else could hear his side commentary, but we all could. "I had no idea Macie could be so demanding."

"You…ah…" Macie frantically glanced at Zuri for help and no help was found. Zuri watched us as if she had a bowl of popcorn in her lap, was enjoying the show, and had no intentions of intervening.

"You…can't wear a fish suit," Macie countered Lev.

"It's a shark suit," I corrected.

Macie's spine straightened and her head tipped so quickly toward her shoulder, it made her appear possessed, and that brought me immeasurable joy.

"Gee, thanks for the clarification, Relic."

"Yes, Relic," Lev added. "People don't understand sharks like we do."

"Did you hear that, Macie?" I prodded. "You're being very unfair to sharks."

"Very," Lev said. "But I forgive you. And of course, I can't wear a shark suit. That would be silly."

Macie's shoulders relaxed. "Okay."

"I mean, if I were working in the water park, that'd be one thing. Then I could glide into the water and help the guests, but it doesn't make sense for a shark to be operating a ride."

I laughed out loud as Macie's head fell into her hands. When she looked up, she pulled her skin down so that the bottom reds of her eyes showed. She then looked at Zuri and said, "I found my challenge for the week."