Chapter Twenty-Nine

Something to Prove

The last few days had felt almost like a dream to Jeffrey. Having his life saved and subsequently learning about Death and the List was quite frankly amazing; never in his long life had Jeffrey ever thought he would be involved in something like this. But as they managed to rescue the other survivors Jeffrey realised that he didn't particularly have a place with the group.

Working as a bus driver, Jeffrey was all too aware of his age and the separation it struck between him and the students. He pretended that it didn't bother him but when he caught the laughter or the insults he found his heart falling. That same feeling now applied with the survivors, even though they weren't laughing at him. Ruby and Tanzi were both still young woman and the rest were barely adults, still in college. The fact of the matter was that Jeffrey just couldn't keep up. When he took Paige and Ruby to find Jade he had stayed in the car even though he had found a parking space quite quickly. Neither Ruby nor Paige had offered to wait for him; certainly, there was a rush but even so they didn't seem to show any concern.

The question was simply was he active enough to help the survivors? What happened to Lacey and what happened to Zach… Jeffrey couldn't have saved them had he been in Lucas or Naomi's place.

"I hate to state the obvious," Jeremiah said from his position in the driver's seat. Even Jeremiah must have been twenty to thirty years younger than Jeffrey. "I though you wanted to head in?"

Jeffrey looked to Jeremiah and then around the carpark of Sussex Downs. Jeffrey couldn't lie to himself. He did want to go in. He wanted to get in contact with Isadora and speak to her but… and there it was. That but. Jeffrey couldn't just sit back and let Ruby and the rest be at the forefront. He had been thinking about it the previous night and Jeffrey realised, sitting in the empty carpark with Jeremiah at his side, than he had to do something. He was involved now and despite his age he wanted – no, he needed to help.

"There's a change of plans," Jeffrey finally said, drawing a questioning look from Jeremiah. "We need to get Jade to the mansion."

"I thought she didn't want to get involved?" Jeremiah said. "Besides, she got the number of Ruby, right?"

"That's not enough, Jeremiah. After Naomi it will be Jade and what if her band doesn't catch it in time? What if Jade is alone?" Jeffrey shook his head. "Ruby may have taken Jade's no for an answer and I can't."

"So you want to find her and what… take her by force?" Jeremiah raised an eyebrow. "Look, we both know Ruby would have done everything in her power to try and persuade Jade to come but if she says no then we need to be content with the fact that Ruby can call her…"

"She may have done everything in her power but we haven't done everything in our power," Jeffrey took a breath. "You're a teacher, Jeremiah. You have the power to call her to the college."

"Wait, wait, you do want to force her?"

"I want to save her life! I can't just sit back and…" Jeffrey put a palm to his forehead. "Jeremiah… You got involved with us presumably because you wanted to help us. Then help me. Help me make sure Jade survives what is coming. If that means putting her in a detention or, hell, even calling her parents… I think we have to do it."

"Jeffrey… You know as well as I do that Jade Skysong is a free spirit. You think she'll come even if we did threaten her with detention or tell her parents? The girl has a dream and nothing will get in the way of that. Both of us have seen that's she'd happily quit college to pursue her music."

Jeremiah was right, of course. Everyone around the college knew that Jade's time there was running out. Most just wondered whether it was going to be her choosing to leave or whether she'd get kicked out for taking too many days off.

A sudden tapping on the window drew the attention of the two staff members and were surprised to find none other than Jade herself standing with her arms crossed outside of Jeremiah's window. Jeremiah quickly rolled down the window and Jade leaned forward so she could look at the two men.

"You guys keeping watch on me?" Jade said with a grin.

"What are you doing here?" Jeffrey asked, not really considering the question.

Jade just laughed. "I haven't left this place yet. I got lessons to get to. Speaking of which, next time you see Paige and the others tell them to at least phone school. Do you know how many people have asked my why the four of 'em haven't come to college for a few days? Too many, that's for sure. Everyone assumes I would know just because we were on your minibus together," Jade laughed. "But seriously, you're not checking up on me, are you?"

"I assume Ruby told you that we were working with her?" Jeffrey asked.

"She told me a lot of things – most of which sounded like she needed to visit an asylum. But hey, the two of you are together so either you've finally found some love, Mr. Jebediah, or you're on an errand for Red."

"We actually didn't come here to keep track of you," Jeffrey said as he got out of the car so he could converse with Jade properly. "But while we have you…"

"Classes, remember?" Jade pointed towards the college building with her thumb. "I have my flunking days down to a science, you know."

"I just don't think you should be alone, Jade,"

"Jeffrey, please. I think you're a cool dude and all but Red explained everything to me. I don't need to hear the same old thing. Besides, I can't exactly be alone at a college with hundreds of students, can I?" Seeing Jeffrey's expression, Jade just sighed. "I got her number. If anything happens I'll call her… but chances of that are slim."

"Why don't you believe what Ruby says, Jade?" Jeffrey asked honestly.

"Who says I don't believe?" Jade shook her head. "Quite frankly I'm sitting on the fence with what Red said. Yes, she explained it well. She didn't seem like she was lying and the fact that the skies about London tore open prove that things can get crazy in this world of ours. On the other hand how can you expect me to accept it just like that? I'm gonna need proof in order to change my plans – and it's gotta be good for me to put off the Skyhawks."

"Are you just willing to wait until someone dies?" Jeffrey found himself getting angry, which surprised him. He liked to remain calm and neutral but something inside of him was frustrated at Jade's carefree attitude. Why couldn't she see – at that moment Jeffrey's mobile rung and he closed his eyes. "Give me a moment, please."

"Sure, sure, I don't have places to be," Jade rolled her eyes as Jeffrey pulled out his phone but nevertheless stayed leaning on Jeremiah's car.

Jeffrey listened to something on the other end and his face grew concerned. "And they're both okay? Thank God… Have you phoned Ruby?" Jeffrey listened again. "Good. As luck would have it I had Jade right in front of me. We'll come by the hospital when we can, Naomi. Okay… Okay. Goodbye." Jeffrey hung up and let out an exhausted sigh, his eyes shut.

"What happened?" Jeremiah asked from his position in the driver's seat.

"Naomi and the others were involved in a crash. Naomi was saved but Lucas was injured. Tanzi is also at the hospital for a head injury but Naomi didn't say what happened. We'll have to get the full story when we go visit them."

"Sounds like you got your hands full," Jade said, turning. "I'll see you folks later."

"You can't go!" Jeffrey stepped forward and Jade turned around, not bothering to hide the irritation on her face. "You heard it yourself, Naomi was nearly killed!"

"She's fine, right?" Jade shrugged. "Accidents happen every day."

Jeffrey couldn't believe it. "You don't seem phased at all about—"

"Do you want me to be?" Jade was clearly getting angry now. She was always one quick to temper. "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Mr. Howarth, but you seem to forget that I'm not friends with those guys. Sure, we were in the same minibus together but that was one of the only times we've ever interacted with each other. Zach is too busy trying to regain his lost reputation, Naomi tends to be a be cold, Paige speaks to frickin' voices and Lacey is far too timid for me to get along with. Look, it sucks that something happened and Naomi is in the hospital but honest-to-god… It's none of my business. Until someone manages to find me proof that my life is in danger then I am going to continue my day, thank you very much."

And with that Jade had strode away from the speechless Jeffrey.

"You pushed too hard there, if I had to reckon," Jeremiah provided.

"We can't let her go."

"And we can't chase after her."

"If Tanzi is out of action then how can she warn us if she has a vision?"

Jeremiah shook his head. "Jeffrey, don't go down that road."

"What road, Jeremiah? The road of wanting to save a human life?"

"The road of wanting to prove yourself," Jeremiah said firmly. "I know what you are going through, Jeffrey. I know that you think the others don't value you."

"I—"

"Please do me the courtesy of not lying to my face." Jeremiah's tone shut Jeffrey down immediately. "Jeffrey, Ruby and Tanzi both value your presence immensely. Without you backing their story then none of the students would have joined them and likely Zach, Naomi, and Lacey would all be dead now. The fact of the matter is it was you who pulled them over to Ruby's cause and it's because of you that they stayed and believed."

Jeffrey was silent after this before finally nodding. "Thank you, Jeremiah. I've let myself get out of control…" He ran a hand through his white hair. "But the fact still remains that we can't let Jade be in that school without someone watching over her."

"We won't."

"But you said—"

"I said we can't chase after her. While you are a staff member, being the bus driver will make it seem peculiar if you wonder around the school. I will go in and keep an eye on Jade myself. Nothing will happen to her, I promise."

"Are you saying to stay here?" It was happening again. Someone else was putting in the effort and leaving Jeffrey out to the cold. After everything Jeremiah had just said…

"Of course not," Jeremiah smiled widely. "I know it may not be directly helping but you need to go to that staff room and get talkin' with that girl of yours."

"What…?"

"Your happiness cannot be looked past, Jeffrey. If you got a chance to find someone you care about then you need to make sure you don't burn that bridge, despite everything that is goin' on. If you don't keep in contact with Isadora then you'll regret it later. I will make sure Jade is safe. This way you won't have lied to the others, either." Jeremiah clapped Jeffrey on the shoulder. "Jeffrey… You know that being old isn't a detriment, right? You just got to look at it as experience. These boys and girls look up to you; Ruby and Tanzi as well. They see you and they see someone they can confide in, someone they can trust in. You're like the canvas of a painting. Sure, most people overlook its importance but without the canvas then there wouldn't be any art in the first place, would there?" With a wink, Jeremiah beckoned to the school. "So let's go. You talk with Isadora and I'll protect Jade. We'll prove that us old fogies ain't gonna lose to the young ones." Jeremiah chuckled and walked off, leaving Jeffrey to simply look at his back.

The man was right, Jeffrey knew. He was letting the stress of the situation leak out and that wouldn't do, not at all. The other survivors needed an anchor they could rely on when the goings got tough. With his mind made up, Jeffrey followed after Jeremiah towards Sussex Downs.