Chapter 2:
One of the things I love most about flying is the freedom. I can go anywhere I want, as fast as I want, and however I want. I never had many chances to fly in heaven because my wings were too small to keep me up in the air for very long. Hence another reason why people didn't think I was an angel; I never flew. I walked everywhere. The only reason that I could fly over to the studio where Julia practiced was because it wasn't too far away and there were buildings I could jump on if I lost lift. But just because I could do all that doesn't mean that I wasn't exhausted and my wings in extreme pain by the time I got there.
~*~
A total of ten minutes later and I was massaging what I could of my wings while Julia played her violin and I was avoiding contact with the textured wall as much as possible.
I wasn't really sure what she was playing, but it was a beautiful song. Sure, classical isn't really my style, but a guy can like a piece or two, right?
While listening to her, I found myself beginning to space out again. It's like my mind thought of an idea, latched onto it, and went from there. The thought? My past.
Right before I died, I hit my head enough to knock me out and cause amnesia. The last things I saw before I died were the tacky green seat in front of me, and a very scary guy to my left. After that, the bus I was on fell off a large cliff and next thing I knew, I was standing in front of St. Peter and the shining golden gates leading into Heaven Private Community.
I had no idea who I was, where I came from, and no idea I even died. I could have easily been stuck in limbo due to the no memory thing, but before that could happen, that son of a gun Garrett happened to be walking by and had me explain what happened. Peter said since he couldn't find me in his big database of people I should be thrown back, but Garrett took pity on me, gave me a name – Christian – and let me in to my new home.
It'd be when I was alone that I'd think about who I was and my family. Since there was no record of me, I couldn't find them. So I'd think about if they missed me, if they had a funeral, if they found my body... stuff like that. Of course it didn't matter if I thought of them or not because I was on my own – sort of. Garrett became my new family. He taught me everything – math, science, two different languages, everything. He became my teacher, mentor, and father. I owe him my (spiritual) life. If it wasn't for him, I don’t know where I'd be. Definitely not in heaven or here. I could be in hell right now if Garrett didn't save my sorry butt.
"Hey, look sharp." Richard kicked me out of my day dream. "Time for your first test as a guardian angel."
I looked at him curiously, then at Julia. Her instructor was yelling at her unfairly about how terrible her playing was and just going off on the poor girl.
If I wasn't an angel, I would have punched the instructor's lights out in a heartbeat.
However, since all I could do was talk to Julia, that’s what I did.
"Whatever you do, don't listen to her." I wrapped my arms around Julia and held her close. "I, for one, thought your playing was beautiful. I can honestly say I don't know what you were playing, but I loved it. What was it called?"
"Pachelbel's Canon." She whispered so her teacher couldn’t hear her.
"Interesting..." Enjoying the moment that Richard couldn't really see what I was doing, I kissed the top of her head. "You know, you should play that again for me sometime. It might not be my style, but if you're playing it, I'm sure I can get used to the lack of drums and guitars."
She laughed a bit under her breath. "Heh, you prefer something less classy?"
"If you consider rock and grunge less classy, then yes. I do."
"You have yourself a deal." She took a deep breath and gave me the cue that she was fine. "Mrs. Smith? I'm sorry. I'll do better next time."
"...I should be apologizing." Her instructor shook her head and I could have sworn I saw a small puff of black smoke rise up out of her head. Don’t call me crazy, I saw what I saw. Little did I know that I was soon to be seeing much more of those inane black clouds later on.
~*~
We regrouped at the van later. I hadn't seen it from my position in the sky, but it close it was really LAME for lack of better words. Dingy green, black cloth seats, stickers all over the back... it just screamed Soccer Mom (even though Richard drove it). If I hadn't felt like letting my wings recover from the tiring flight there and let him drive, I would have hopped out of the car and gotten back on my own.
Because Julia was in the front seat, I got in the back, kicked my feet up, and let Richard do all of the work.
"Demon Boy." Richard said as he tried starting up the car.
"Yo." I casually responded, ignoring my newly acquired nickname.
"Can't you – I don't know – fly?"
"Yeah. Buuuuut I really don't want to since you can drive." Re-doing the laces on my boots, I could tell a smirk was appearing. "And besides, my wings aren't meant for long flights and they're still recovering from the flight here. You wouldn't want your precious sister's guardian angel having to stay at home because he can't fly, would you?"
Richard paused, deeply thinking about my incredibly perfect reason.
He didn't even have to say anything for me to understand he was mad at losing an argument.
