Chapter 3
After breakfast, we went outside, into Dr. Martinez's backyard. Ella stood and watched us as we unfurled our wings and took to the skies. It felt so good to be up in the air, the sky, which I was told by everyone was blue. Too bad I couldn't feel the sky, to see exactly what color blue it was. Fang stayed close to me, telling me exactly what to do, like when we rocketed up and split into a big, six-pointed star, Fang said,
"Straight up, then backwards at six o'clock. Then stay there." I did what he said.
"Okay, guys, now here's the new stuff. Gazzy, you're the star of this new stuff. Everybody grab someone, except Gazzy. Hold hands and form an arch. Make sure you don't hit each other's wings. No, no! Hold the person across from you. That's right! Gazzy, you know how to do a barrel roll, right? Corkscrew, you know? OK, good!" Max yelled to the flock as Fang told me where to hover. I grabbed Nudge's hands and she guided my arms into an arch with hers. I could feel the breeze from the downstroke of Max's wings next to me. That meant either Fang or Angel was with her. Knowing Max, it was Fang.
"What am I going to do, Max?" Angel called.
"You wait at the end of the tunnel. When the Gasman shoots out, you two grab hands and dive as fast as you can. As close to the ground as you can safely get, break apart and come back up. Then, we're going to arrange ourselves in size order in a stack, Angel highest and Iggy on the bottom. Go, go GO!" Max yelled. I could feel Gazzy pass under my arms, and heard the clap as his and Angel's hands met up. Suddenly, everybody was rearranging themselves, above me.
I reached up and touched a heavy boot. Fang. I could assume Max was above him, and Nudge above her, and Gazzy above her, and finally Angel at the top. I could hear Fang grumbling almost silently. He had a weird thing about people flying above him. Dunno what his problem was.
"Awesome, you guys! That's it. We'll do some more tomorrow. Go do whatever." Max dismissed us. I coasted down, knowing the Martinez's property so well I didn't need Fang whispering directions in my ear.
I landed, my shoes touching grass. I heard Ella push the patio chair back off to my left, so I headed that way.
"After watching all that, I have to ask you: how do you know where to go and when to do it? I would hate being blind. I would just feel so helpless and, well, blind. I don't know how you do it!" Ella said as I came nearer, shaking my wings out. They were hot from the exercise. It was a cold November morning, so I wrapped them around myself for a second, enjoying the warmth. You know, up in the air, we can't wear really bulky jackets or coats because we wouldn't be able to fly well. Let me tell you: a flimsy windbreaker just doesn't cut it. I was freezing.
"What's up, Ig?" That was Gazzy.
"Nothing. I was just cold, that's all." I said back.
"Oh." Gazzy walked past me and Ella, slamming the sliding glass door behind him. Ella and I were alone on the patio now. I pulled Ella toward me, encasing both of us in my wings.
"I have a sixth sense," I joked.
"Really?" I could almost see Ella's hopeful and incredulous face.
"Nah, it's just I have Fang telling me the exact directions, like 'go straight up and backward at six o'clock'."
"You say stuff like ten o'clock and twelve o'clock? Just like in the cop films? Cool!"
"I guess you could say it's cool, but it sucks majorly not being able to see you. Not being able to see your beautiful face." I said, cupping her chin in my hand. Don't say this isn't wrong. There's only seven months difference (give or take) in our ages. I'm just really tall.
Next thing I knew, she came up on tiptoes and kissed me. Not just like a fleeting peck, but a real, good kiss. I kissed her back, still holding her chin. She put her hand on my cheek and tilted her head. So there we were, kissing together in my warm wings when – guess who! – Dr. Martinez walks out onto the patio.
I heard the door open, and instantly pulled my wings in and stepped away from Ella. I blushed, and I think Ella did too.
"Oh! I'm sorry – I thought I left Magnolia's leash out here." She apologized, walking over to the table next to me. I heard the clink of the metal clip against the glass surface. She left, and closed the door behind her.
"Sorry about my mom," Ella said quietly.
"It's okay," I whispered, pulling Ella into my arms again. This time, I kissed her. She didn't kiss me back, so I let her go. I put a hand on her face, and felt a tear. "What's wrong?"
"It just won't work out. I have a boyfriend at school, and you're just, well . . . you . . ." she trailed off.
"Is it my wings? My blindness? My height?" I asked, concerned, because I didn't want Ella to cry. I didn't like to have her sad.
"We'll never be able to see each other again, once you leave. I don't want you to leave, Iggy. I love you," she said. She walked inside, leaving me very confused, standing on the patio.
I sighed and went inside the warm house, feeling my way down the hall to the room me and the Gasman were sharing. I flopped down on my bed, kicking the door closed with my foot. At six feet tall, the bed was way too short for me. As a consequence, my legs dangled off the edge of the bed. I pulled my wings out and wrapped them around my arms and face. I felt safe, encased in feathers. But feathers didn't stop Fang from opening the door silently and sitting on Gazzy's bed so quietly, even I didn't hear him.
"I saw Ella come in. She was crying." He said, startling me. I pulled my wings back so they were still out, but not covering my face. I sat up.
"Yeah, well, that's not your concern, is it?" I snapped and lay back down. Me and Fang just weren't getting along today.
"Actually it is. What happened out there, Iggy?" Fang asked. I composed my face, then decided I didn't want to. I covered my face again.
"Ella just got upset. She wanted to talk to me." I said, my voice muffled by a mouthful of feathers.
"What did she want to talk to you about?" He pressed on.
"Nothing, man. Drop it." I frowned into my secondary feathers.
"I get it. Love sucks, let me tell you." Fang got up and left.