Lumen and the Thistle Read online

  “Hey there, Alec!” Alice shouted.

  “Oh, hi Miss Haaken. I thought you were working today?”

  “I took the day off to spend it with Lumen,” she said, smiling.

  “That’s nice. I’ll head back home then. I can come back later.”

  Alec started to walk away when Alice stopped him.

  “Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Alec. We are going to go to the movies. Join us. On me!” Lumen stayed silent throughout the conversation. He stared at Alec, who seemed paranoid. He usually didn’t come over without calling first.

  “Uh, yeah, why not?” Alec asked.

  “Great! Let me grab a coat first, it’s always so cold in the theatre.”

  As his mother walked away, Lumen began to notice more lights. He decided to focus his attention back on Alec.

  “What’s your deal man? You show up late last night without telling me, and now you're standing at my front door, again without calling, pounding on the door. Are you okay?”

  “I tried calling dude, no one picked up. I thought your mom was working today, so I figured I would just head over.”

  “You still haven’t really explained yourself for last night. You seemed worked up about something,” Lumen said.

  “I thought something had happened, but I was wrong, I told you not to worry about it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing.” Alec shrugged off the conversation.

  “Okay, boys, you ready?” Alice said as she locked the front door.

  They all hopped in Alice’s pale-green station wagon.

  “So, Alec, did Lumen talk about the dance with you yet?” said Alice, breaking the silence.

  “What dance?”

  “Oh my goodness. Homecoming! It’s next weekend.”

  “Oh right, uh. . . I’m not sure. I don’t have a date.”

  “Well, I was telling Lumen you guys could go together, solo-dolo, and check it out. I think it would be great for you two to get out there.” Lumen’s mom was very excited about it. Lumen turned red.

  “Are you going, Lumen?” Alec asked.

  Lumen hesitated to answer.

  “I’ll go if you go . . .”

  “Well looks like we are going. We’ll have to buy some tickets on Monday.”

  “Do you have a suit, Alec?” Alice asked.

  “Uh, no. Where can I get one?”

  “I have a friend who works at a rental shop. I can pick up one for you as well if you’d like?”

  “Yeah, that would be great. Thanks, Miss Haaken.”

  “I’m so excited for you boys!” Alice was beaming. She loved when Lumen could be a normal high-schooler. She just wanted him to be involved.

  They pulled up to the theatre.

  “I figured we would just pick a random movie.”

  They all walked up to the kiosk.

  “How about that one?” Alec pointed to a board with the movie Aurora on it.

  “I heard it’s pretty good. It’s about some weird sci-fi alien under the Northern Lights in the Arctic that is taking people down. He only attacks when the Northern lights are out,” Alec explained.

  “Sounds scary. But Halloween did just pass, so let’s do it!” Alice said excitedly.

  “Three tickets for Aurora please.” Alice handed them their tickets, and they all walked in. Alec walked to the bathroom while Lumen, and Alice ordered some snacks.

  “Do you think Alec wants anything, hun?”

  “Uh. Just get him a drink. He can get his own snack if he wants anything else.”

  They ordered and walked into the theatre. They found seats toward the middle. Alec walked in after them and sat next to Lumen.

  “We just got you a drink. We tried to wait, but you took too long in the bathroom.”

  “Thanks, sorry, was just taking care of something.”

  “I don’t need to know what you were doing in the bathroom, thanks,” Lumen laughed, and Alec chuckled nervously as he wiped sweat from his forehead. The lights dimmed, and the previews began.

  Chapter 4 - Homecoming

  “W

  ell, that was . . . good, right boys?” Alice remarked after the movie was over.

  “Yeah, it was pretty exciting, like the one part where the alien snatched up those two guards.” Alec tried to convince Alice he liked the movie. Lumen didn’t hide his feelings.

  “It was awful. The CGI wasn’t great, and the acting was stupid. Why didn’t we check the reviews? Last time we randomly see a movie, Mom.”

  Alice seemed taken back a bit by Lumen’s harshness. He wasn’t normally this forward.

  “It wasn’t that bad, Miss Haaken. I liked it. Thanks for taking us.”

  “Yeah, thanks so much,” Lumen said sarcastically.

  “You are very welcome, Alec, and you better watch your tone, young man. I don’t remember the last time you paid for a movie.” Lumen didn’t make any more comments about the movie. They all got into the car and headed back home. Lumen was silent all the way home while Alice and Alec talked about their favorite parts of the movie. Lumen noticed Alec sweating more than usual today. It was like he was trying really hard to be kind to his mom. Lumen laughed to himself at the thought of that.

  “Well, I am going to rest for a bit, Lu,” said Alice as they got out of the car. “I will make dinner in a couple of hours. Can you take Wrigley out before you and Alec do anything else?”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  Lumen went into the house and called for Wrigley, who didn’t respond. Lumen knew where he was this time.

  He walked into his room and found Wrigley chewing on some ice again on his bed. His sheets were wet.

  “Wrigley! Get up!” Lumen was angry about his sheets being wet and not understanding where the ice came from. He yelled at Wrigley to get out. His mom and Alec came to the room almost immediately. Lumen began to notice the blue lights again.

  “What’s wrong, hun?”

  “My sheets are wet.”

  “Did Wrigley pee on them? He hasn’t done that for a long time now.”

  “No.” Lumen began to stare at the lights around his room, hardly paying attention to his mom. The lights bunched toward the center of his room again, almost pulsating. Lumen tried to look away but couldn’t think of anything else to distract him. Alec was silent.

  “No? What is it then?”

  “Ice. . . More ice. . . He keeps getting ice from. . . somewhere,” Lumen said slowly.

  “That’s strange. I will have someone come check out the freezer this week. You seem a bit out of it, hun. Why don’t you take your medicine?”

  “Okay.” Lumen stared at the lights in the center of his room. He had never seen them like this before. What is going on? They look incredible right now, Lumen said to himself.

  Alice went to the kitchen to grab the medicine.

  “Dude, are you alright? What do you see?” Alec asked curiously.

  “The lights; they’re everywhere,” he said, pointing to the center of the room.

  “Like everywhere you’ve been today?”

  “No, just in my room right now.”

  “What color?”

  “Mostly blue.”

  “Oh, I see.” Alec rubbed his chin.

  Alice returned from the kitchen with medicine and a glass of water.

  “Here, Lu, drink some water.”

  Lumen washed down the pill, unaware of what he was doing. He felt out of body, as if he were on another world. They were oddly calming as much as they were overwhelming to him. H had never felt their presence as he did that day. His body tingled as he laid in his bed.

  “Alec, you can go if you’d like. Lu usually gets pretty tired when he takes his medicine.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’ll take out Wrigley for you and hang with Lumen. I don’t have much of anything else going on today.”

  Lumen looked away from the lights as he begun to reconnect with the room around him. For once, he noticed Alec wasn’t sweating.

  * * *
r />   Lumen awoke from a deep sleep. It took him a minute to realize what had happened and where he was. He remembered feeling overwhelmed by the lights and looked around, wondering if they were still there. The lights were not pulsating as they were before, but they were still there. He got up, stretched, and walked to the living room. Alec was still there watching TV. Lumen walked over and sat on the couch beside him.

  “Hey there, sleepy head. How you feeling?” Alice asked from the kitchen.

  “I’m good, thanks. Can you get me a glass of water, please?”

  “Sure.”

  Alec looked at him. He seemed antsy. He had been squirming in his seat since Lumen sat down.

  “Are you alright?” Lumen asked, put off by Alec’s restlessness. “You want one of my pills? You haven’t stopped moving since I came in here.”

  Alec chuckled.

  “No, it’s just been a little while since you fell asleep. I was starting to get bored.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “Almost two hours. You feel alright?” asked Alex.

  “Yeah, the lights got a bit mind-boggling. Maybe I should take my medicine more often.”

  “No,” Alec said curtly.

  “No?” Lumen asked, slightly alarmed by the abrupted answer. “Why?”

  Alice walked in and handed Lumen a glass of water.

  “Would you like anything, Alec? You’ve been waiting so patiently. You’re such a good friend.”

  “No thank you, Miss Haaken.”

  “Please, call me Alice. How many times do I have to tell you?” Alice walked away and murmured to herself about how nice Alec had been.

  Lumen drank all of his water, took a deep breath, and looked intently at Alec.

  “So, why shouldn’t I take my medicine?”

  Alec took a couple seconds to answer.

  “Well . . . uh, we wouldn’t be able to hang out as much.”

  “We wouldn’t be able to hang out as much if I can’t function. If I take the medicine more often, I probably wouldn’t be so tired every time I took it.”

  “I don’t think it is a good idea,” Alec fidgeted in his seat again and tried drying his hands on the couch.

  “Let’s face it, my sickness is only going to get worse. Doctor said the lights were only the beginning. I should just face the fact that I need to take my medicine or I could become a danger to myself or someone else.” Lumen didn’t like to talk about his sickness most of the time. He never felt like he was a sick person, just different. But he had never become overwhelmed by the lights as he did earlier.

  “A danger? You were just staring off into space, dude. I wouldn’t say that’s dangerous.”

  “Well, what if I stop in the middle of the street one day and get hit by a car? Or walk onto a frozen lake because I’m following the lights, or—-” Alec cut him off.

  “I don’t think it will get that bad. You just need to learn how to use the lights—”

  “How to use them?”

  “—I mean how to cope with them,” Alec said quickly.

  “I guess.”

  “I would hold off on dumping a bunch of medicine into your body, man. I don’t think you need it.”

  “Yes, doctor. Whatever you say, doctor,” Lumen said sarcastically.

  Alec tittered forcibly and leaned back into the couch as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  Lumen and Alec both turned toward the TV to watch. Lumen surfed through some channels before deciding to ask Alec if he just wanted to play some video games. As he turned to ask, Lumen noticed Alec was as sweaty as ever, momentarily remembering how dry he was before the pill lulled him to sleep.

  They agreed on what game to play and turned on the console. They played for an hour or so before Alice asked if they just wanted to order a pizza. Lumen and Alec agreed, and Alice called in an order.

  They waited around until the pizza lady came. They chowed down a few slices each at the dinner table as they talked about the upcoming school week. Lumen and Alec agreed to go to the rental shop on Tuesday to try on some suits for the dance next weekend. Once they were done eating, Lumen and Alec helped clean up and then headed to Lumen’s room.

  “Are we sure we want to go to this dance, dude? It could be super lame. We could just play some games or something instead,” Lumen said anxiously.

  Alec shook his head.

  “What if Sofia is there? You could totally dance with her.”

  Lumen blushed at the thought slow dancing with Sofia. He thought about how it would go and played out a few scenarios in his head. He’d never had a girlfriend. Did he hold her hips with both hands, or would he need to hold her hip with his right hand, and his left hand in her hand? Or the other way around? He snapped out of that thought, realizing he’d never told Alec about Sofia before.

  “What? Why Sofia? Why would you even say that?” Lumen laughed awkwardly and continued to blush.

  “I see how you look at her, man. You think she’s cute. You always stare at her when she walks by or when you see her across the hall; it’s like you’re looking at your lights. You always stare at her in math class too and never pay attention. Yet somehow you have a better grade than me . . .” Alec trailed off into thought.

  “You think I would have a chance?” Lumen asked excitedly, feeling embarrassed for asking.

  “I’m not sure. Only one way to find out, though. You have to try and talk to her. The dance is the perfect place. ”

  The idea of talking with Sofia made Lumen’s heart race. The idea of dancing with her made Lumen feel as if his heart was going to pop out of his chest.

  “I don’t know man. She’s not that cute. I mostly look at her because her hair is so long. She should get a haircut, don’t you think?” Lumen laughed awkwardly again. He didn’t want to seem desperate to Alec for liking a girl he’d never actually talked to.

  Alec smiled. “We’ll practice what you should say throughout the week.”

  Lumen thought that was a good idea. He forgot about being embarrassed in front of Alec and immediately got to thinking about what he would say. He was on edge just thinking about it. He ran through a couple of scenarios in his head, and all of them ended in disaster.

  Alec sat down in the desk chair and picked up the papers on the desk.

  “We didn’t have homework this week, did we?”

  “Huh?” Lumen barely heard Alec, he was still thinking about what he would say to Sofia.

  “Homework? Did we have any this weekend?” Alec repeated.

  “Oh, right. No. No homework this weekend.”

  “Phew, I was worried for a second there.”

  Alec looked down and noticed a drawing of a man in a green trench coat with a large cat.

  “Where’d you get this drawing?” Alec said, his tone abrasive.

  “Uh, I’m not sure. I think I took it from someone in one of my classes. Do you know anyone who can draw? It’s pretty good. Weird, but very good. Also, whoever made it clearly doesn’t know that cats aren’t that big. I mean sheesh, the cat’s head is halfway up the weird man’s thigh. Right?” Lumen said in a joking manner.

  “It’s just a large cat. Probably just a breed of cat we’ve never seen,” Alec said matter-of-factly.

  Lumen stared at the picture for a moment.

  “Hmmm, maybe you’re right. What’s with the vest and goggles on the cat? It’s like a cartoon character or something. It’s a great drawing, but the cat looks kind of stupid if you ask me.” Lumen said.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Alec laughed.

  “Well, who do you think drew it? I’m sure they want this back. Seems like they took a lot of time to make this.” Lumen grabbed the paper from Alec and took a closer look. He looked at the back of the drawing and noticed a small signature.

  A.A

  Lumen read aloud, “A-A.” He hadn’t noticed the signature when he looked at the drawing before. Alec remained silent.

  “Hm, A.A. . .” Lumen said again, this time more slowly. “Do we know
anybody that has a first and last name that starts with an A?”

  Alec stayed silent for another moment. He was thinking hard about it as he peered up at the ceiling.

  “Hmmmm, yeah I think this girl in my first-period class does. I think I have seen her drawing in class before. I’ll take it to her on Monday,” Alec stated.

  “Really, who?” Alec seemed caught off guard by the question.

  “Uhhhh, Ash . . . ley. Ashley Amber is her name, I believe,” Alec claimed.

  “She has two first names? I’ve never heard of an Ashley Amber before.”

  “You wouldn’t know her, she is . . . uh . . . a new girl. Just moved here,” Alec said nervously. Lumen took notice.

  “Why are you being so weird about it? Do you like this girl or something?”

  Alec stayed silent again and stared at Lumen as if he was trying to think of something to say.

  “You do like her, don’t you? Well, perfect. We both have girls we can ask to dance. You can practice this week, too. Don’t worry dude. It’ll be easy. I see girls looking at you all the time. We’ll just have to get some extra deodorant or cologne or something to get you to stop sweating and smelling,” Lumen stopped himself and realized he may have hurt Alec’s feelings.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. You don’t smell,” Lumen lied.

  “Oh, don’t worry. We both know I sweat a lot,” Alec said, still seemingly distracted. “I should go home now.” Alec folded up the drawing and put it in his pocket.

  Lumen thought Alec was mad at him; but, before he could say anything, Alec walked out of the house, clearly headed home. Lumen felt a bit confused by what had just happened. He followed Alec as he walked out the front door without another word.

  “Did Alec head home?” Alice said as the front door closed.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Lumen said bluely.

  “He left without saying goodbye. Is he okay?” Alice amiably said.

  “Yeah, I think so. I accidentally made a comment about his sweating thing. We don’t really talk about it. I guess he’s sensitive about it.”

  “Oh no. . .Make sure you apologize when you see him again! You know how that feels.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m sure it’s okay. I’ll see him at school.”