I continued to watch the practices, but I didn't notice anything important to the case. There was nothing warehouse-ish in my other classes either.
Marcus was a suspect but there was another boy, Daniel Mitchells that got a lot of attention, he was a junior stuck in mainly freshman classes so maybe the Lord thing just seemed likely because of the way the younger kids treated him.
Despite my skills at observation I wasn't getting anywhere. I needed to get a better idea of the teenage hierarchy, the stuff they didn't tell teachers.
A week went by and I only got more frustrated.
I was still dizzy and sick and I felt that having to teach was getting in the way of my observation skills.
At the end of class Romeo was still sitting in his seat starring at me. He was shaking his head, looking at me with a look of disappointment.
He tilted his head to the side just slightly the way Pete did when he was trying to figure something out, but this boy did it with a quizzical expression as if he were studying me.
"I would have thought you would have figured it out by now."
He started to leave.
I was so stunned it took me a few moments to react.
"Come here!"
To my surprise he came.
"What did you mean by that?"
"I can't tell you."
I could tell based on his expression that he really couldn't or at least had promised not to.
I decided to try a different tactic. "How about I ask you a few questions and you tell me the answers if you can?"
He nodded smiling so slightly making his brown eyes glint like gold for a split second like Pete when I let him eat junk food.
"What is your name?"
He rolled his eyes. "Romeo."
"Your full name." I demanded.
He hesitated. "Romeo Arthur…"
This was the name on the roll call, but he was hesitating. "Is there more?"
"I can't say." He looked sad.
"Have you noticed any students change drastically in the last couple weeks?"
"Yeah, it's high school, but I wouldn't ask me."
"Why not?"
"I got here only a few days before you."
I smiled; he knew something that he wasn't saying.
For some reason I couldn't help but think that he knew what was going on or that he had seen something.
I rephrased the question. "Is there a student that you've noticed acting out of the ordinary, extraordinary?"
I was expecting a look of confusion, but instead the slightest of smiles glinted his lips. "Penny Bell." He turned to leave. "You didn't here it from me, if anyone asks."
He acted like the conversation we just had was completely normal.
When I went to the practice latter that day Pete came and sat next to me in the stands while the guys played a scrimmage.
"What do you know about Romeo?"
"Who?" He asked.
I pointed to his pitcher. "That kid, he's in my class."
"He's a freshman, made varsity, he's actually 13, skipped a grade. Never heard anyone call him Romeo, just Rom. Other than that not much. Personally if I were his dad I'd call him Rally. The initials on his glove are RAL."
I noticed something, Pete scratched at his ear.
It was a habit that told me he had no idea what I wanted to hear and he was trying to figure out what I was thinking.
I spotted Romeo do the same thing as he looked over at us.
I stood up.
"Why Rally?"
"I don't know."
"His initials are R and A."
"Have you called him that yet?"
"No!"
"What does this have to do with the case?"
"I don't think it has anything to do with the case."
Pete starred at me. "Are you going to tell me where you are Myks?"
"Not yet."
The next day when he came into class I waited. I didn't pay him any attention. As he got up to leave the room I called out to him. "Rally!"
He immediately turned around.
It was extremely unconventional but I grabbed his backpack and didn't let him leave.
"Sit. You are going to tell me if I'm right?"
He sat down.
"Do you believe in magic?"
"What kid doesn't?"
"Don't act like Pete. Answer the question."
He starred me down thinking he had the upper hand.
I felt nauseous for a moment. I placed a hand on my stomach for just a second.
"When's your birthday?" I was secretly hoping he wouldn't say…
"August."
I withheld a gasp.
"What year?"
"What kind of question is that?"
I decided to go all in on this game. "Rally Lattimer, so help me, if you don't give me a straight answer…"
"Mom, would you just give it a rest!"
For one moment I smiled triumphant and then I realized what he just called me.
I sat down next to him in one of the chairs.
He smiled at me. "Aunt Helena sent me here, to tell you not to take the artifact from Penny." He waited to see if I was listening.
I blinked once for yes.
I did this with Pete so I thought he would get it.
He did.
"She's meant to do more with it and it will find it's way to the Warehouse just fine."
I nodded. "How did you get here?"
"I'm not here, not really."
I looked over at him and went to place my hand on his shoulder. It rested there.
"You seem real to me."
As I said it my hand started to fall through and he started to disappear.
"I'm a warehouse kid. I'm basically an artifact, like Dad."
I could only see an outline now.
"Take care of me." He laughed. "I'll be seeing you soon."
Pete and I finished out the week and headed back to Univille.
Before we left I took two more tests. Both were positive.
We really would be seeing Rally soon.
