"What do you mean; the shifter probably doesn't have a chance?" Adele placed a lid on the pot and turned the heat down.
"Trace said a shifter would have to be capable of staring down the werewolves," Sali answered. "Can't see a bat doing that," he snickered. Ashe sighed helplessly at Sali's statement. He now had solid evidence that Sali remembered the bat—and nothing else.
"It may interest you to know that the Grand Master recommended this particular shifter," Adele informed Sali, who straightened up right away. "The letter was with his application."
"The Grand Master recommended him?" Ashe stared at Sali. Sali shrugged. "Mom, what is his animal?"
"We don't know, hon. How about setting the table for Mr. Winkler and the others?"
* * *
"Sali, things may be different this school year," Ashe said. He and Sali sat on the deck behind the house, eating plates of spaghetti and garlic bread. The others were eating and talking in the dining room inside.
"How?" Sali swiped the last of his sauce with a piece of bread and stuffed it in his mouth.
"Mr. Winkler wants to keep me on part-time and asked me to take online college courses. That means taking the GED and skipping the rest of high school."
"What?" Sali swallowed his food and stared at Ashe.
"What I said," Ashe blew out a breath. "He likes my work, I guess. Enough to keep me on."
"Dude, that's just, that's just—wow. No more high school homework? That's outstanding."
"But there's no graduation, either. Not from high school. College maybe, somewhere down the road."
"I'd be happy to give that up," Sali insisted.
"You can do me a favor, though," Ashe said.
"What's that?"
"Drive me to the bookstore in Corpus, so I can buy a GED study guide."
"I'll go with them," Trace volunteered when Ashe walked inside to get permission from his mother. Marco went as well, and since Sali's car wasn't large enough, Adele allowed Ashe to drive Aedan's SUV. Ashe weighed different versions of the study guides later in Corpus Christi's largest bookstore.
"Here," Marco handed a frozen coffee drink to Ashe. "It's decaf."
"This is good—now I know why everybody gets addicted to these things," Ashe slurped at the caramel mocha concoction.
"Dude, aren't you done yet?" Sali walked up with an identical drink in his hand.
"I can't decide which one to get," Ashe said, tapping the books under consideration.
"Get both, Winkler's buying," Trace said, holding up a company credit card.
"Good. I can get the new book in my favorite series, too," Ashe laughed. "Winkler can get these," he handed both guides to Trace, "and I'll buy what I want."
"You read entirely too much," Sali grumped.
"Wait till you get in college," Marco teased.
"Dad won't let me out of it?" Sali begged.
"Don't give me pitiful puppy eyes. You're going," Marco said.
"Winkler won't hire you without college credit," Trace whispered beside Sali's ear.
"Really?" Sali sucked on his frozen drink.
"Yep. So get to work, slacker." Marco slapped Sali's back.
"Sal, your grades are decent so far," Ashe pointed out. "And if you worked at it, they'd be even better. That could get you into any school you want. Think of the girls."
"Yeah," Sali sounded bitter.
"Ixnay on the irls-gay," Marco made a cutting off motion with his hand.
"Huh?" Ashe stared at Marco.
"Let's go find that book you wanted," Marco hauled Ashe away from the reference section. "Sali and Wynn broke up this afternoon," Marco hissed when they arrived in the sci-fi section. Ashe pulled the new hardcover he wanted off the shelf as he listened to Marco. "You saw the bracelet Wynn bought Sali for his birthday? He didn't want to wear it all the time. She got upset and now they're history."
"Well, Dori might get what she wants after all," Ashe muttered bitterly.
"Ashe, you can't let this bother you. I had at least eight girlfriends before graduating from high school. And in a small paranormal school, that's a lot."
"But you were cool. Sali's cool. Ashe Evans?" Ashe pointed to his chest. "Definitely not cool. And I don't have wheels, so I'm doubly not cool."
"I wish you'd stop looking at yourself in that light. Coolness isn't measured by what you have or drive. Anybody who looks at someone else that way is too shallow to waste time on."
"I know. But you see where we are and all? I can't go anywhere without a bodyguard. What if I want to go on a date, Marco? Is Trace coming along for that?"
"That does present a problem," Marco rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "But you could always flash that tattoo you have and your girl might not mind going on a double date."
"It's all moot at this point, I don't have a girl," Ashe pointed out the obvious. "And not likely to get one, either."
"Chad and Jeremy don't have any either. And not likely to get any," Marco chuckled.
"Where are they?" Ashe asked. "I haven't seen them around."
"On vacation. Jeremy's parents went to Florida and took Chad and Jeremy with them. Those two won't head back to school until the end of August."
"And Mr. and Mrs. Booth are such nice people," Ashe said.
"You think somebody dropped a cuckoo's egg in their nest?" Marco grinned widely.
"It can happen," Ashe agreed.
"Yeah, you'd know, all right. Let's go; Trace is probably seeing double, surrounded by so many books."
* * *
"Dude, you don't like to read?" Ashe asked Trace as they loaded into the SUV.
"I'm a little dyslexic," Trace admitted. "I had a tough time getting through school."
"But you're a smart person," Ashe said.
"Yeah, but the words on the page? They just scramble when I try to read them. I listen to audio books," he said. "I enjoy good mysteries when I have free time."
"I didn't realize wolves could be dyslexic," Ashe said. "Sorry, man."
"Not a problem. I like what I do. It suits me."
"Someday, maybe you'll teach me that Kung Fu stuff," Ashe said.
"We're working on that," Trace nodded.
* * *
"Are you sure this is what you want, Ashe?" Aedan leaned back on the glider with Adele.