Page 19 of Welcome to Fae Cafe

“No way,” Kate said. “I shouldn’t go anywhere near the station ever again.”

A long silence was all that came through the phone before Lily finally spoke again. “There’s supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight. Do you want me to stay over?”

Kate swallowed. “No.”

“They’re calling for stormy weather all week.”

“I know.”

Another pass of silence. A pair of birds fluttered by and landed in a tree by the path. They started singing.

“Well, you know where to find me if you need me. Have a good class,” Lily said.

Theclickof Lily hanging up came through the speaker. Kate slid the phone into her book bag and grabbed her latte from the bench to finish her walk-jog to the university. She stole a wary glance at the morning sky on the way. The clouds still looked white.

Crisp leaves drifted from the trees, sparkling the morning air with twirling browns and spinning yellows, crafting a blanket of windblown maple confetti over the campus walkway. Kate sipped her latte, rolling cinnamon and nutmeg over her tongue and soothing her spinning, aching mind with the comforts of milk and espresso as she marched up the stairs. The great stone building of historic architecture swallowed her in.

Professor Palmer’s voice trickled through the student crowd. Kate passed him and Professor Eres deep in conversation.

“…and I’m talking about the strange happenings at this university. You know thelibrary incident, and thegrowling in the floor…”

“You’re blaming it on mythical creatures again? Come on, Palmer. No one believes that nonsense. You’ve been teaching mythology for too long.”

Kate slowed her walk. She’d heard the rumours about the school library like everybody else. They’d circulated like wildfire over the summer when a pack of students trashed the place and ripped up half the books. No one had been arrested yet.

Kate swallowed, thinking about how the turquoise-eyed “Officer Riley” had called herHuman.

“Mr. Palmer,” she said, cutting into the professors’ conversation. “Can I meet with you after my literature class this morning?”

Professor Palmer raised an eyebrow. “I suppose, Miss…?”

“I’m Kate Kole. And I have some questions about… some of the things you teach.”

She felt her cheeks warm when Professor Eres gave her a doubtful look, as though he wondered why any student would want an audience with the school’s “crazy professor.” She ignored him and waited for Professor Palmer’s answer. “I’m a writer,” Kate clarified. “I’m writing a mythology-based high fantasy novel.”

Professor Palmer seemed to grow irritated the moment she said, “fantasy novel”, but he nodded. “I’ll be in my office all morning,” he mumbled.

“Thank you.” Kate mustered a smile and turned for her classroom. As she did, her gaze snagged on someone who didn’t belong with the young adults and book bags, and she sighed.

Five-year-old Gracelynn Morris spun in circles in the middle of the hall where students twice her height pushed by. The little girl’s eyes were brimmed with tears. One of her shoelaces was untied and her nose was running. She wiped it with the back of her sleeve.

“Are you lost?” Kate asked as she approached the girl and squatted to a knee. She hadn’t seen Gracelynn since her summer job at the daycare facility. Mrs. Morris had been teaching summer classes at the university.

Gracelynn burst into tears at the sight of her. “Miss Kate! I can’t find my mommy!”

Kate checked her watch. “I’ll take you to the teacher’s lounge to find her. Let’s go.”

Gracelynn sniffed as Kate took her hand and began leading her down the hall. “Are you coming back to daycare again next summer?” the little girl asked through a wail as they walked.

“No, I’m going to be a barista,” Kate said, reaching over to smear a fat tear off Gracelynn’s cheek.

“A ba-rees-tah?”

Kate laughed. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Miss Kate,” Gracelynn said again. “I’ll only feel better if you sing the daffodils song for me.”

“Wait, what? You want me to sing? Here?” Kate chuckled again and shook her head as she headed for the busiest hallway intersection in the building. “I can’t do that right in the middle of the hall. Let’s find your mom before I’m late or I’m going to be totally implausible.”

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